Craig Revel Horwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Craig Revel Horwood
|
|
|---|---|
Horwood in 2022
|
|
| Born | 4 January 1965 |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation |
|
| Spouse(s) |
Jane Horwood
(m. 1990; div. 1992) |
| Partner(s) | Jonathan Myring (2018–present; engaged) |
Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is a famous Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, and theatre director. He lives and works in the United Kingdom. He is also a supporter of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, a charity that helps people with bone conditions.
Horwood is best known as a judge on the BBC dancing TV show Strictly Come Dancing. He has been a judge on almost every season since the show started. You can often see him performing amazing ballroom and Latin dance routines.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Craig Revel Horwood was born in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, on 4 January 1965. His father, Phil, was a former Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy. Craig began his dancing career in Melbourne. Later, he moved to London to find more opportunities and to compete in dance. He moved to the UK from Australia in 1989. On 20 August 2011, he officially became a British citizen.
Revel is Craig's middle name. It is not part of a double-barrelled surname.
Craig's Career Journey
Theatre Work
Craig Revel Horwood has worked on many theatre productions. He has directed and choreographed shows in London's famous West End and around the UK.
West End and UK Shows
Some of Craig's West End shows include Spend Spend Spend and My One and Only. Both of these shows were nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Choreography. He also helped direct and choreograph West Side Story. He was the resident director for Miss Saigon.
He choreographed musicals like Hard Times – The Musical and Calamity Jane. He also directed and choreographed Beautiful and Damned. In 2008, he directed a new version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Sunset Boulevard. This show started at the Watermill Theatre and then moved to London's West End.
From 2010 to 2011, Craig directed and choreographed the UK and Canadian tour of Chess. This musical was created by Tim Rice with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA. Since 2012, he has directed the UK Tour of Strictly Come Dancing. He has also starred as Miss Hannigan in the musical Annie. He performed this role in UK tours in 2015, 2019, and 2023. He also played the role in the West End in 2017.
Craig 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 also directed Strictly Ballroom the Musical. This show was planned for 2020 but was moved to 2022 because of COVID-19.
In the summer of 2024, Craig starred in the UK tour of The Wizard of Oz. He played the part of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Special Events
Craig Revel Horwood directed the opening ceremonies for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. He also staged a live concert in Copenhagen called Once Upon a Time – The Life of Hans Christian Andersen. This concert celebrated the author's 200th birthday.
Pantomime Performances
Craig often performs in pantomimes, which are fun, traditional British theatre shows. In December 2009, he played the Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in Llandudno, North Wales. He played this role again in 2010 and 2011. In 2012 and 2013, he played the same role alongside Ann Widdecombe.
From 2014 to 2016, Craig played Captain Hook in Peter Pan. He performed this role in Dartford, High Wycombe, and Bromley. In December 2017, he was the Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in Southampton. In December 2018, he played the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella in Woking. He played the Wicked Queen again in Manchester in 2019. In 2021 and 2022, he was the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella in Southampton and Bristol. He is set to play Captain Hook again in Milton Keynes in December 2024.
Solo Tour
Craig Revel Horwood started his first solo tour around England called The All Balls and Glitter Tour. In this show, he talks about his life and performs music from his career. This tour was planned for Spring 2020 but was moved to Spring 2022 due to COVID-19.
Television Appearances
Strictly Come Dancing
Craig has been a judge on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing since it began in 2004. He is known for being one of the strictest judges. He often gets boos from the audience for his low scores! Craig is very strict about the rules of dancing. For example, he will mark down a dance if a dancer performs an 'illegal lift' where the lady's foot leaves the floor when it shouldn't.
Craig has given the lowest score of "1" more times than any other judge. He was part of the lowest-ever total score of 8 for Quentin Willson in 2004. Craig is also famous for his unique way of speaking. He often stretches out vowels in words like 'It was a complete dahnce di-sah-ster, dahling'. Another well-known phrase is 'Three words: Fab-u-lous!', where he says each part of the word separately. You can even get his catchphrases as ringtones, with money going to the National Osteoporosis Society.
Dancing with the Stars
Craig was also 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 for two seasons, starting in 2019.
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy
In 2005, Craig became a judge on Comic Relief Does Fame Academy. This show was for the charity Comic Relief. He returned as a judge for the third series of the show in 2007.
Other TV Shows
Craig has appeared in many other TV shows. In 2007, he was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef and reached the final. He was a guest judge on Daily Cooks Challenge in 2010. He also appeared on game shows like Would I Lie to You? and Celebrity Juice.
In 2012, he was on The Magicians. He also appeared on The Wright Stuff and Loose Women. Craig was featured on the CBBC show 12 Again, where he talked about his life when he was 12 years old.
Craig won a TV series called Maestro at the Opera. In this show, celebrities learned to conduct an orchestra. As the winner, Craig conducted Act II of the opera La Bohème in late 2012. In 2014, he sang in a choir for the Children in Need charity single. He also appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? in 2017, where he learned about his family history.
Craig voiced the snake Cornelius in the animated series Sadie Sparks. In 2021, he appeared on The Masked Dancer as Knickerbocker Glory. He also joined fellow dancer Bruno Tonioli in the show Craig and Bruno's Great British Roadtrip. In this series, they explored different parts of Britain.
Film Work
Craig Revel Horwood choreographed the final scene in the movie Paddington 2 (2017). He also made his acting debut in the film Nativity Rocks! (2018), playing Emmanuel Cavendish.
Music Career
In 2021, Craig released a Christmas song called "It's Christmas, Merry Christmas!" with Rietta Austin. He has also announced plans for a duets album with Austin, which is expected in 2023.
Personal Life
Craig Revel Horwood was married to Jane Horwood from 1990 to 1992.
Since early 2018, Craig has been in a relationship with Jonathan Myring. They announced their engagement in April 2020. They met using the Tinder app and got engaged while in Tasmania. They plan to get married in August 2025.
Craig became a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society in 2009. This is a charity that helps people with bone disease. He shares this interest with Queen Camilla, who is also a patron of the society. They even danced the cha-cha-cha together during a school visit in 2009.
In 2015, Craig shared that he struggled with anorexia and body dysmorphia when he was younger. This was because he was trying to look like other dancers.
On the TV show Who Do You Think You Are?, Craig learned about his family history. He found out his family came from England. He discovered he wasn't the first dancer in his family! He also learned that some of his ancestors were gold prospectors who found a huge 250-ounce (7.1 kg) gold nugget. He also found out that his great-great-grandfather, Moses Horwood, was sent to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) in 1841.
In late 2021, Craig moved to a large house built in 1867 in the village of King's Cliffe in Northamptonshire.
Awards and Recognition
Craig Revel Horwood has a waxwork figure at Madame Tussauds Blackpool. It has been on display since July 2018.
On 20 July 2021, Craig was given an Honorary Doctor of Arts by the University of Winchester. This special award was given at Winchester Cathedral.
Images for kids
-
Horwood in 2022
-
Horwood in 2008
See also
In Spanish: Craig Revel Horwood para niños
