It didn’t take long for Craig Revel Horwood to make his mark as a judge on Dancing With The Stars.
After only a few episodes, viewers have blasted the straight-talking choreographer’s stinging critiques of the celebrities as “rude” and “nasty”.
But Craig, a long-time judge on popular UK show Strictly Come Dancing, says he “couldn’t care less” what the Australian public thinks of him.
“I don’t care whether people warm to me,” the 54-year-old tells TV WEEK. “I’m here to judge a dance show.
“I don’t think they get my sense of humour yet. I’m tongue-in-cheek, but very much to the point.”
Dancing With The Stars judge Craig (left) doesn’t care if people think he’s too harsh.
While some people find Craig’s directness amusing, others don’t.
In fact, he says he was once slapped across the face by an elderly woman for “being horrible” to her favourite celebrities. He’s also received death threats on social media.
Luckily, Craig can see the funny side of viewers’ reactions to his remarks.
“I just think of it as a comic strip, to be honest,” he explains. “One minute they love me, the next they hate me. It’s not a major world Latin dance competition – it’s an entertainment show!”
Tough judge Craig is joined on the panel by Sharna Burgess and Tristan MacManus. Both former Dancing With The Stars participants.
Unlike Craig, Tristan hopes to be a little bit fairer on the participants.
“I can see myself giving a 10 but I’m not going to trot them out willy nilly,” he says. “I like to think I’ll give one when it’s due and necessary if I gave someone a 10 one week, I’d easily give them a five the following week just to pull them back down if that’s what they needed! “
Dancing With The Stars Australia airs Monday, 7.30pm, on Network 10.
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