Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has alleged that he was abused as a child and said that dancing helped him to forget the pain.

Speaking to ITV‘s Good Morning Britain this morning, he spoke about his upcoming tour Revelations – Songs Boys Don’t Sing.

He said of the tour: ‘My father was an alcoholic. I do talk about that in the show because that led me towards the dancing.

‘And anyone at home I know that’s watching this that has dealt with alcoholism, it’s really, really tough, and we were abused as children, and my whole family was, and that was my only escape.

‘And when I danced, it’s when I really came to life. I forgot all of the abuse at home, and it made me want to do something else with my life.

‘And on my father’s death, I think that was when I actually realised that, after hating my father for so long, I then thought, actually he was a really good man he just had a terrible, terrible disease and it eventually killed him.’

+3
View gallery

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood (pictured) has alleged he was abused as a child and said that dancing helped him to forget the pain

+3
View gallery

Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning, he spoke about his upcoming tour Revelations – Songs Boys Don’t Sing

Craig’s father Phil — a former Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant — died aged 74 in December 2015.

Craig has previously revealed his father ‘drank himself to death’ and had ‘a blood alcohol level of 400mg per litre’ when he died.

Revel Horwood also responded to comments he made about his fellow Strictly judges during his first show on the tour and explained he was joking when he reportedly said: ‘There is no other judge. I created it. They are either dead or have been sacked.’

Asked about the comments this morning he made during his first show last week, he said: ‘What am I going to say? Who’s the best judge? Of course, I’m going to say, me.

‘I was having a little bit of fun.’

Revel Horwood appears as a judge alongside Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.

Reflecting on the 20th anniversary of Strictly in 2024, Horwood said: ‘I’ll tell you why I love it so much, is because every year it’s completely different.

+3
View gallery

Revel Horwood (pictured) appears as a judge alongside Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke

‘You change the cast and it’s a completely different show. You don’t know who you’re going to get and you don’t know where they’re going to lay within the realms of dance.

‘And that’s what makes it interesting and exciting. It’s escapism.’

Revel Horwood’s tour follows on from the release of his debut solo album of the same name.

He is due to travel to cities and towns including Bath, Dundee, London, Liverpool and Swansea, ending his show in Dunfermline on June 28.