Strictly judge 'has softer side'

DJ Scott Mills has said Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has a softer side off screen.

The BBC Radio 1 presenter revealed the judge has apologised for his cutting comments, which included calling him a “banshee” and saying he “can’t dance in any way, shape or form”.

But Craig said despite the pair’s inability to score highly in the competition, both Scott and tennis coach Judy Murray are entertaining to watch.

“When he gets behind that desk, he’s quite scary and I am quite scared of him. When he’s not on screen, he secretly loves me,” Scott said.

“He sometimes comes up and apologises. He’s actually really nice. He’ll say, ‘I’m so sorry, mate, for all those awful things I said on television but it’s true’, I’ll forgive him but then he does it again the next week.”

The 40-year-old producer said the pair have struck up a friendship.

“He’s the judge I talk to the most,” he said. “Obviously he’s judging a dance competition and if I do something technically wrong, and my toes and heels are all over the place, he’ll have to comment on it.

“But I heard him secretly saying that he hopes Judy or I will win. He actually said I was fun to watch so he’s got a soft spot for me. It makes me feel a lot better – now, if he could just reveal some of that soft spot on Saturday night and give me more points, that would be nice.”

Scott and his partner Joanne Clifton have never been in the bottom two of the BBC dance show, despite receiving low scores from judges Craig, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Darcey Bussell.

“I find it quite incredible. Part of you does take that to heart and you can see it’s genuine shock when we get through. We’ve never even been in the bottom two and that’s down to the public,” he said.

The DJ – who will be dressed as Uncle Fester to perform the Foxtrot to the Addams Family theme for Strictly’s Halloween special today – previously hit out at internet trolls who gave him homophobic abuse following his first appearances on Strictly. He is amazed by the strong support he continues to receive.

“The longer I stay in, the more people will say I shouldn’t be there, but at the end of the day, it’s nice that I have people voting for me especially when you get negative comments from the judges,” he said.

“It’s a TV show and everyone’s trying their best and having a lot of fun, and I certainly am having the best time. This week, I’m going to do the ballroom steps to the best of my ability and just get into the spirit of Halloween.”

Strictly judge 'has softer side'