Craig Revel Horwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Craig Revel Horwood
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Horwood in 2022
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| Born | 4 January 1965 |
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| Spouse(s) |
Jane Horwood
(m. 1990; div. 1992) |
| Partner(s) | Jonathan Myring (2018–present; engaged) |
Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, and theatre director. He is also a supporter of the Royal Osteoporosis Society.
Horwood is a judge on the BBC dancing show Strictly Come Dancing. He has been on almost every season since it started. You often see him performing ballroom and Latin dance routines.
Early Life and Background
Craig Revel Horwood was born on 4 January 1965. His birthplace was Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. His father, Phil, was a former Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant. Craig began his dancing career in Melbourne. Later, he moved to London for more opportunities. He wanted to dance professionally there. In 1989, he moved to the UK from Australia. On 20 August 2011, he became a British citizen.
Revel is Horwood's middle name. It is not part of a double-barrelled surname. In his autobiography, Horwood shared that at age 17, he performed as a drag artist in bars and clubs.
Career Highlights
Theatre Work
West End and UK Shows
Horwood has worked on many famous shows in London's West End. These include Spend Spend Spend and My One and Only. Both shows were nominated for Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography. He was also an associate director and choreographer for West Side Story. He helped Bob Avian with Martin Guerre. He was the resident director for Miss Saigon.
He choreographed Hard Times – The Musical and Calamity Jane. He also worked on Tommy Cooper – Jus' Like That. He choreographed the play Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. This play starred Claire Bloom and Billy Zane. It was shown at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He also directed and choreographed Beautiful and Damned. He directed a special concert of My Land's Shore in Cardiff. In 2008, he directed a new show of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard. This show moved to London's West End.
Horwood directed and choreographed the 2010–11 UK and Canadian tour of Chess. This musical was created by Tim Rice. It had music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA. He has directed the UK Tour of Strictly Come Dancing since 2012. He also starred as Miss Hannigan in the UK tour of Annie. He played this role in 2015, 2019, and 2023. He also performed in the West End in 2017.
He directed and choreographed the UK tour of Sister Act from 2016 to 2017. In 2017, he directed and choreographed Son of a Preacher Man. This was a new musical with music by Dusty Springfield. He directed Strictly Ballroom the Musical. This show toured the UK starting in September 2022.
In the summer of 2024, Horwood starred in The Wizard of Oz UK tour. He played the Wicked Witch of the West.
Special Events
Horwood directed the opening ceremonies for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. He also staged Once Upon a Time – The Life of Hans Christian Andersen. This was a live concert in Copenhagen. It celebrated the author's 200th birthday.
Pantomime Performances
In December 2009, Horwood played the Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. This was at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, North Wales. He played this role again in December 2010 and 2011. In December 2012 and 2013, he played the same role. From 2014 to 2016, Horwood played Captain Hook in Peter Pan.
In December 2017, he was the Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In December 2018, he played the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella. He played the Wicked Queen again in December 2019. In December 2021, he was the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella again. He played this role in December 2022 too. He is set to play Captain Hook in Peter Pan in December 2024.
Solo Tour
Horwood started his first solo tour around England. It was called The All Balls and Glitter Tour. He talked about his life and performed music from his career. This tour was rescheduled to Spring 2022 due to COVID-19.
Television Appearances
Strictly Come Dancing Judge
Horwood has been a judge on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing since it began in 2004. He is known for being one of the toughest judges. The audience often boos him, but he usually ends on a positive note. He has been known to strictly follow rules. For example, he might mark down a dance for an 'illegal lift'. This happens if a dancer's foot leaves the floor in certain dances.
Horwood has given a score of "1" more than any other judge. However, he stopped doing this after the sixteenth series. He gave a "1" as part of the lowest-ever score of 8. This was for Quentin Willson's Cha-cha-cha in 2004. That routine was the only single-digit score ever. It was also the only time more than one judge gave a "1".
Horwood is famous for his unique sayings. These often have long, drawn-out vowels. Examples include: 'It was a complete dahnce di-sah-ster, dahling' and "Chah-Chah-Chah". You can even get these as ringtones from his website. The money goes to the National Osteoporosis Society. Another common phrase is 'Three words: Fab-u-lous!'. He also says 'A-ma-zing!' by breaking up the syllables. For exciting dances, he might say 'absolute filth', then add '...and I loved it!'.
Dancing with the Stars Judge
Horwood was a judge on Dancing with the Stars in New Zealand. He judged alongside Brendan Cole. He also judged the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars. He was on seasons 16 and 17, which started in 2019. He judged with Sharna Burgess and Tristan MacManus.
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy
Horwood became a judge on Comic Relief Does Fame Academy in 2005. He judged with Lesley Garrett and Richard Park. He returned as a judge for the third series in 2007.
Other TV Appearances
Horwood appeared in Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. In 2007, he was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef. He reached the final with Nadia Sawalha and Midge Ure.
In 2010, Horwood was a guest judge on Daily Cooks Challenge. He appeared on Would I Lie to You? in 2010. In 2011, he was on Celebrity Juice and Ask Rhod Gilbert. In 2012, he appeared on The Magicians. He was also a panellist on The Wright Stuff and Loose Women. Horwood appeared on CBBC's 12 Again. He talked about his life when he was 12 years old.
Horwood won Maestro at the Opera. This was a reworked version of the 2008 BBC series Maestro. He competed against Josie Lawrence, Marcus du Sautoy, and Trevor Nelson. The show was partly filmed at London's Royal Opera House. As the winner, Horwood conducted Act II of La Bohème in late 2012.
Horwood sang on a charity single for Children in Need in 2014. The choir performed a version of Avicii's "Wake Me Up". In 2016, he was a panellist on a special Loose Women show. He also starred in Who Do You Think You Are? in 2017. In this show, he learned about his family history.
Horwood also voiced Cornelius the snake in the animated series Sadie Sparks. He appeared on Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show in 2019.
In 2021, Horwood appeared on The Masked Dancer. He was masked as Knickerbocker Glory. He was the seventh celebrity to be unmasked. In June 2021, it was announced that Horwood would join Bruno Tonioli. They would star in Craig and Bruno's Great British Roadtrip. This series showed them exploring Britain.
Film Work
Horwood choreographed the final scene in Paddington 2 (2017). He also made his acting debut as Emmanuel Cavendish in Nativity Rocks! (2018).
Music Career
In 2021, Horwood released a Christmas single. It was called "It's Christmas, Merry Christmas!" with Rietta Austin. It reached number 21 on British iTunes. Horwood announced a duets album with Austin. It was released in 2023.
Personal Life
Horwood was married to Jane Horwood from 1990 to 1992. In December 2014, Horwood shared that he was bisexual for a long time. He said he dated both men and women between ages 17 and 26. His wife Jane left him for another man. Then he fell in love with a man. He has been gay since then. His former partner Damon Scott was a runner-up on Britain's Got Talent.
Since early 2018, Horwood has been in a relationship with Jonathan Myring. Myring is a horticulturist, someone who works with plants. In April 2020, Horwood and Myring announced their engagement. They met on Tinder. They got engaged while in Tasmania.
Horwood became a supporter of the Royal Osteoporosis Society in 2009. He shares this interest with Queen Camilla. Her mother, like his, had a bone disease. They even danced the cha-cha-cha together. This happened during a school visit in 2009. It was to mark National Osteoporosis Day.
In January 2015, Horwood shared that he struggled with anorexia and body dysmorphia as a teenager. This was when he was a young dancer. He was trying to look like other young men and dancers.
The TV show Who Do You Think You Are? featured Horwood's family history. His research took him back to Australia. He found that his family came from Gloucestershire, Lancashire, and Essex in England. Horwood discovered he was not the first dancer in his family. He also learned he is descended from gold prospectors. They went broke before finding a 250-ounce gold nugget. He also found out his great-great-grandfather, Moses Horwood, was a petty criminal from England. He was sent to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1841.
In late 2021, Horwood moved to a large house in King's Cliffe. This village is in Northamptonshire. Horwood and Myring plan to marry in August 2025. The wedding will be at St Matthew's Church, Normanton, near Rutland Water.
Honours and Awards
Horwood has a waxwork figure at Madame Tussauds Blackpool. It has been on display since July 2018.
On 20 July 2021, Horwood received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from the University of Winchester. This ceremony took place at Winchester Cathedral.
See also
In Spanish: Craig Revel Horwood para niños
