Craig Revel Horwood Blasts ‘Ridiculous' Viewers Who Criticised Saturday's Drag Routine

Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood has hit out at critics who did not enjoy the professional dancers' drag routine last week.

The performance saw show pros Johannes Radebe, Gorka Marquez and Giovanni Pernice wear sequinned outfits, paired with make-up and high heels as they danced to a medley from popular musical Priscilla: Queen of the Desert on Saturday's show.

But while the electrifying performance won swathes of praise on social media, a small minority of critics vocalised their issues with the performance, with some even branding the routine as "disgusting".

And now, judge Craig, 55, has urged viewers to "turn off" if they have a problem with drag acts.

"I think they are ridiculous," he told PA news agency. " If you can't grow with society then turn it off. It's crazy.

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"You are always going to come into problems with someone complaining about something. But there was nothing."

He continued: "If people knew what Priscilla Queen Of The Desert actually was, like the musical and they saw that, then they would know that the boys were acting as these characters in the play.

"That's the whole point of having musicals week and movies week, so you get to play these wonderful and vibrant characters.

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"I'm sorry but this is a part of real life and if you are not going to open your eyes up to it then turn the TV off."

The BBC has reportedly received over 150 complaints from viewers, according to the Mirror. Tyla has contacted a BBC spokesperson for comment.

This is not the first time a Strictly professional routine has elicited a strong reaction online.

Johannes made history last series when he danced with fellow pro Graziano Di Prima in the show's first ever same-sex routine.

This season was the first to see a same-sex partnership between a celebrity and a pro, after Olympic boxer Nicola Adams was partnered with Katya Jones - something which also saw fans complain.

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"People need to open their eyes and accept that this is all-inclusive society and that is what we should be working towards," Craig said.

"That's what we should be opening our minds up to, not going against it and complaining about people having a great time and dancing in character. That's just crazy."

Only five couples now remain in the series, which continues on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.

Topics: Entertainment News, Celebrity News, TV News, TV & Film, TV Entertainment, Strictly Come Dancing

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley