Craig Revel Horwood's Biography

Who is Craig Revel Horwood?

Craig Revel Horwood began dancing in Ballarat, Australia, where he was born the son of an alcoholic naval officer and a housewife. He moved to Melbourne and appeared in numerous productions.

Revel Horwood came to Europe and appeared in the original concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as Cats, Miss Saigon and many other productions and recordings.

His listing on Gavin Barker's website includes a welter of choreography and directing credits as well as his television work which includes judging on Strictly Come Dancing.

Craig Revel Horwood was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 for Best Theatre Choreographer for Spend, Spend, Spend and, in 2003, he was nominated again for an 'Olivier' - this time for Best Theatre Choreographer of 2002 for My One and Only.

Craig Revel Horwood's interview in The Scotsman covered a range of his tastes including his favourite underwear, furniture and brand of coffee.

Revel Horwood explained to The Guardian why he enjoyed working on Arms and the Cow:

"It's a gift for a choreographer, because it's packed with big, Latin show tunes from the fandango to the samba with just a hint of traditional Tyrolean lederhosen underneath. It's a thigh-slapping, high-kicking, paso-dobleing bonanza."

Craig Revel Horwood has grown a reputation for acerbic criticisms on Strictly Come Dancing. In series 3, his barbs got to Dennis Taylor, who was sufficiently provoked to challenge Revel Horwood: "What I’m going to do with Craig is buy him a snooker cue and see what he can do with that in five days"

He also wrote Teach Yourself Ballroom Dancing for the famous Teach Yourself book range.

In 2007 Craig Revel Horwood was one of the judges on Fame Academy.

In 2008 he revealed in the News of the World how he worked as a rent boy when he was 17 before becoming a drag act called Lavish.

As a teenager Craig Revel Horwood was anorexic and this contributed to his suffering from osteoarthritis later in life. In 2009, he became a patron of the National Osteoporosis Society.

The revelations were to be detailed in Craig Revel Horwood's autobiography All Balls And Glitter: My Life.

In 2012, Craig Revel Horwood was one of the celebrity contestants on the BBC2 series Maestro at the Opera. He won the competition.

Craig Revel Horwood's partner was Grant Macpherson. He then became engaged to Jonathan Myring. Previously, he had been married to Jane for two and a half years when he was in his 20s.

In 2013, Revel Horwood published another book, Tales From The Dance Floor.

In 2017, Craig Revel Horwood was featured on Who Do You Think You Are? and discovered that his great great grandfather Harry Macklin was a champion clog dancer.

In July 2017, the BBC revealed that Craig Revel Horwood earned over £150,000 from licence fee revenue in their financial year 2016/7.

He was also cast as Miss Hannigan in a London west end production of Annie.

In 2020, he published his first novel Dances on Dreams on Diamond Street.

Craig's numerous panto appearances include starring as the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella and, in 2024, he was cast as Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

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