Craig Revel Horwood has tipped Kelvin Fletcher as the man to beat on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The former Emmerdale actor was a last minute addition to this year’s line-up after Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing injured himself during the first week of rehearsals.
Kelvin – and his hips – immediately made a huge impression on viewers and the judges, and has consistently been in the top end of the leaderboard each week.
Craig believes the actor has what it takes to go all the way, telling Radio Times: “He’s very much in touch with himself, and his body, and the rhythm of it.
“His strengths lie in Latin — in hip action and telling stories. He possesses great musicality and rhythm and he blew everyone away with his first dance.
“If he reaches the final and dances the salsa, then I can definitely see him lifting the Glitterball Trophy. Plus he’s loved by the nation.”
However, Craig did point out that Kelvin needs to up his ballroom game, which he says the soap star “struggles” with.
“If he can get some swing and sway into his ballroom, I think he’ll definitely be up to getting to the final,” Craig adds.
“And because he came in super-strong from the start, it’s difficult to show the viewers a journey.”
Craig also admitted that he’s pleased there hasn’t been as much talk about the so-called ‘Strictly Curse’ this year – after married professional Katya Jones was caught kissing her dance partner Seann Walsh on a boozy night during the last series.
“It did detract from the show last year,” Craig tells the magazine. “It was all about that rather than the show being great family entertainment.
“Besides, I don’t think of it as a curse – I think of it as a blessing. There are a lot of loving relationships that have formed from the show. All I say is: if your relationship is on the rocks and you meet someone, how delightful is that?”
Strictly come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.50pm on BBC One.
Read the full interview with Craig in this week’s Radio Times, out now. www.radiotimes.com.
