During his time on the panel, Craig Revel Horwood has earned himself a reputation as the most outspoken of the Strictly Come Dancing judges – and this year he’s started voicing his opinions on the celebrities before he’s even seen them dance.
Asked for his thoughts on this year’s line-up during a Mecca Bingo Online appearance (via The Sun), Craig took a jab at contestants Nicola Adams and Bill Bailey.
Of the Olympic boxer, Craig admitted he feared she would be “punching above her weight, darling” when it came to dance ability, but did say he was excited to see her performing as part of Strictly’s first ever same-sex pairing.
“I am looking forward to seeing a same sex couple,” he added. “That’s going to be cool.”
Here’s hoping she can prove him wrong when the series finally gets underway later this year.
Meanwhile, Craig was similarly cutting when it came to stand-up comedian Bill Bailey, predicting he would be “terrible”, but noting he was “looking forward to the disasters”.
All 12 of this year’s Strictly contestants were announced last week, with actor Caroline Quentin, former NFL player Jason Bell and The Wanted singer Max George competing against Nicola and Bill.
Also on the show are broadcaster Ranvir Singh, Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo, Invictus Games player and presenter JJ Chalmers, pop star HRVY and EastEnders star Maisie Smith.
Completing the line-up are former home secretary Jacqui Smith and Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing, returning to Strictly after an injury cost him his spot on last year’s series.
Due to the coronavirus crisis, the forthcoming series will look a little different to usual, running for less time than previous years and without Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel.
Although a start date is yet to be confirmed, Strictly is expected to return to our screens in October.