Strictly speaking, TV's Mr Nasty to show his softer side

On May 26 he’ll tell his story during a new show called The All Balls And Glitter Tour, which will feature at The Alexandra Theatre, in Birmingham. He will take fans on an autobiographical romp through his life in song and dance. There’ll be plenty of gossip about Strictly, of course, with the second act being devoted to his Strictly story. Fans can laugh at anecdotes about Strictly and backstage stuff.

“It’s a show I’ve always wanted to do and this seems like the perfect time to do it, to bring a bit of joy into people’s lives. I’m not just doing it for my own satisfaction but also to show people what I used to do before Strictly.”

Craig will be joined on stage by a pianist, his good friend Ben Goddard. There’ll be banter and the opportunity for the audience to answer questions – which he promises to answer truthfully.

It’s a daunting prospect, taking to the stage without lots of dancers or TV extras. “It’s quite scary, I have to say. I’m quite nervous about the whole thing because I’ve never gone out by myself like this. Obviously I’ve played parts like Miss Hannigan in Annie but you’re part of a company and certainly in panto you’re constantly breaking the fourth wall, talking to the audience and going in and out of character. This will be totally different. When you’re talking about yourself in real life it can be emotionally difficult as well, although I’m looking forward to baring all in that respect.”

Revel Horwood has different sides to his character. When he’s on Strictly, he puts his judge’s hat on and treats it seriously. “That’s who people see but it’s not the real me no, of course not. That’s just a part of me. It’s my critical side. You wouldn’t expect a judge in a murder trial to be the same person as he is at home.

“That’s my work character and I’m like that when I’m choreographing and directing too. I think it’s important to be honest with people, especially since you want them to be really good and better. For me that honesty is absolutely essential and on the tour I want to be honest and tell everyone the truth about how I started. It might help other kids coming up who might be thinking about a life in the theatre or on stage.”

The Strictly star’s waspish comments on TV have earned him the sobriquet Mr Nasty. He’s been labelled the show’s meanest judge because he hands out the lowest marks and offers the harshest critiques. Not that those labels get to him.

“No, I don’t care. It’s part and parcel of the job and it’s the same as playing the villain in panto. I’m always cast as the villain and I’m pleased about that because the villains have the better parts. Who wants to be the love interest? No-one! I think it got to me originally but I’ve learned to live with it. People know that it’s tongue-in-cheek and that there’s a twinkle in my eye. I don’t ever go too far and I don’t insult people. [Laughs] Well, I try not to anyway. I’m just trying to make their dancing better and I think any way you can do that is a good thing.”

The All Balls and Glitter Tour had been due to take place some time ago, but fell victim to Covid. Like so many shows, it’s been postponed a couple of times.

“It was postponed twice and that was a nightmare, not so much for me but for the audiences who were looking forward to it. Now I just want to provide some joy and escapism. When we went on the road recently with the Strictly Come Dancing live arena tour it was amazing seeing 10,000 people smiling, happy, applauding, booing, hissing, doing all of that stuff. It was just brilliant and it reminded me of what we’d been missing. You end taking things like that for granted until they don’t exist anymore, then you think ‘Wow, this is amazing and I should never take it for granted ever again’.”

During the lockdown, Revel Horwood wrote a novel [Dances And Dreams On Diamond Street] and also recorded a Christmas single [It’s Christmas, Merry Christmas! with Rietta Austin]. He also made a duets album that will be released soon, as well as learning a bit more about his garden. Keeping active keeps him happy – and he admits he’s hopeless at doing nothing.

“When we first went into lockdown the weather was absolutely beautiful and I did nothing except lie by the pool and read books. It was so nice but as it started to drag on I thought ‘This is turning into a nightmare not only for me but for the world’. I’m not usually one to sit around. My mind is constantly active, so I worked on the one-man show to try and develop it a little bit more and now it’s finally come to fruition. I’m delighted to finally be getting it up and running.”

And now he’s back on stage, doing what he loves best and performing for fans. “There’ll be lots of ad-libbing. Act One is more scripted than Act Two, which is more off-the-cuff. And juicy gossip? Of course, darling! Would life be anything without a bit of juicy gossip? But I’m not telling you anything about that now because I want it to be a surprise. Trust me, it’s going to be full of surprises. It’s going to be fun and I’ll be giving people a good time.

“I like seeing different audiences, because the further north you go the louder they get, and going to different cities every day will be really good fun. There are a lot of stops on the tour and when I saw the schedule I thought ‘Am I gonna be able to do this?’ It’s going to be a challenge and definitely physically so, so I’ll have to look after myself. But it’s going to be a fun challenge and Ben and I get on like a house on fire, plus there’s a whole team involved. There’s stage management, lighting and sound, so it’s not just me rocking up by myself. You become a family on tour and you look out for each other. It’s nice having that camaraderie.”

Tickets are available at: www.atgtickets.com/birmingham or on 0844 871 7615