Craig Revel Horwood has called for a former Strictly Come Dancing professional to make a comeback almost a decade on from when she left the BBC dancing programme
Craig Revel Horwood has called for a former Strictly Come Dancing professional to make a comeback almost a decade on from when she left. The TV star, 60, is gearing up to take his usual place on the panel alongside Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, and Anton Du Beke, where he will be no doubt unleashing his typically acerbic feedback onto contestants like Love Island winner Dani Dyer, Neighbours legend Stefan Dennis and rugby player Chris Robshaw, amongst a host of others.
But when asked if he had to take to the floor himself, Craig, who was a professional dancer himself before joining the BBC competition series and is no stranger to the stage, having directed musicals like Sister Act and starred in hit shows like Annie and The Wizard of Oz over the years, revealed he would dance a Charleston and want to be paired up with Natalie Lowe.
He said: It would be a Charleston because I love the energy and goofiness of the dance. I would dance to Fat Sam’s Grand Slam [from the musical Bugsy Malone] and if I could choose any pro to dance with, I’d bring back Natalie Lowe.”
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Speaking about why he would choose Natalie, who left the show in 2017, he added: “She’s a blast from the past, she’s really tall, and I think she’s fantastic to dance with.
Natalie first found fame when she was a professional on Dancing with the Stars in Australia, and she won with footballer Anthony Koutoufides in 2004, and also made it to the final with boxer Danny Green and former Home and Away star Tim Campbell.
Following this success, she moved to the UK to compete in Strictly Come Dancing and joined the programme in its seventh series.
While Natalie never managed to win the programme, she did reach the final with former Hollyoaks star Ricky Whittle, and got considerably far into the competition with stars like TV chef Ainsley Harriott and EastEnders actor Scott Maslen. After competing alongside Olympian Greg Rutherford in 2016, she announced that she had quit.
“This was a very difficult decision for me not to accept the invitation to appear on this season of Strictly Come Dancing,” she told the Press Association at the time.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I have arrived at this decision. I’ll be forever grateful for the amazing time, opportunities and memories that Strictly has created for me. My time on the programme has been everything that I dreamed it would be and more.
“From the friendships I developed, the amazing dances I was able to perform in and the experiences that Strictly provided, it has been an incredible and extraordinary adventure.”
But amid all the scandals that have unfolded around Strictly in recent years, Greg had nothing but praise for his former dancing partner.
At the time, he said: “I was fortunate that I had a very experienced dancer in Natalie. We just tried to have as much fun as we could because it was her last season.”
Reflecting on the recent furore surrounding the professional dancers, which has marred the star-studded series, he concluded: “It works both ways. It’s a very intense show and you have dancers that have a very different view of the world to others.”
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday for its launch show.
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