Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood has shared a distressing incident from his past when he was left “very upset” after a set of Royal coffee mugs, a present from Prince Andrew, were stolen.
The renowned judge discussed the unfortunate event in his 2018 autobiography ‘In Strictest Confidence’, revealing that the theft occurred while he was performing in Annie on the West End.
Celebrating his 60th birthday tomorrow, Craig recounted how his sister Sue was visiting from Australia at the time and they were outside the theatre in Piccadilly when the incident took place.
He recalled: “Just after opening night we went to the pub next to the theatre in Piccadilly. While I was outside chatting on the phone, a down-and-out drug addict stole my backpack from right under Sue’s nose.
“The crafty joker somehow managed to snatch it without her seeing. Once we realised it had gone, we ran around Piccadilly looking for it, to no avail,” reports Lancs Live.
Craig lamented the loss of not only his wallet, which contained a significant amount of cash, but also the treasured Royal coffee mugs from the Palace, gifted by Prince Andrew himself.
The TV personality expressed his heartbreak over the incident, noting that he had intended to give the mugs to his mother. He also mentioned that the police conducted an interview with him at the theatre the next day, amidst his preparations to take on the role of Miss Hannigan.
Craig revealed that during the police interview, he dramatically transformed into his alter ego leaving the officers bewildered.
Craig Revel Horwood
(Image: (Image: BBC))
Fortunately, the stolen backpack resurfaced at a McDonald’s the following day, but the wallet’s cash and the precious Royal mugs gifted by the Duke of York remained missing.
Although Craig believed the mugs were “irreplaceable”, his PA Clare managed to contact Buckingham Palace, and they graciously replaced the items.
Craig has strong connections to the Royal Family, having attended the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot in 2018 and meeting Queen Camilla multiple times through their shared work with the National Osteoporosis Society.
As a long-time judge on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing since its 2004 debut, Craig has built a reputation for being tough to impress. However, in an interview on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast, Craig claimed he is often “misunderstood” due to the show’s time constraints, explaining: “I get obviously misunderstood on a programme like Strictly Come Dancing. I think only because I have 10 seconds to say what’s wrong with the dance.
“And that’s tough, you know? So I have to be really quick. I’ve got to be to the point. You know, if I was coaching them, I could look on X Factor, you’d get coaching.
“So you’ve got an opportunity to make them better. But on Strictly, I’m just there, literally wearing a judge’s wig and holding paddles.”