Strictly Come Dancing feud exposed as Craig Revel Horwood names his 'arch enemy' on the show

Craig Revel Horwood is famed for his sharp tongue on Strictly Come Dancing, so it comes as no surprise that he's found himself embroiled in feuds over the years. The judge has been part of the BBC One show since it began airing 20 years ago, and has cemented himself as the harshest critic on the panel.

There's one professional dancer Craig, 59, has never seen eye to eye with however, and he's even admitted he considers him to be an "enemy". He has now revealed how his feud with former Strictly star Brendan Cole came about - and it was all down to an unimpressive dance.

Craig and Brendan's fallout was sparked during a screen test for the iconic Saturday night series back in 2004. Craig watched Brendan dance with BBC newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky and was far from impressed.

He told Radio Times: "'I said, 'She can hardly walk down the stairs, and the professional has the bowest legs I’ve ever seen.' By the end of that series it was nail-bitingly exciting. It won the hearts and minds of a nation."

He added: "As for Brendan, we really were archenemies. "He was very mouthy and he’d say, 'Oh, what would you know?' So I secretly studied ballroom with Len’s wife Sue, because knowledge is power."

It's not the first time Craig has spoken out about his feud with Brendan. After the professional dancer's Strictly exit in 2018, Craig revealed he extended an olive branch and invited him for lunch but was rejected.

He told Kate Thornton on her White Wine Question Time podcast: "I hadn't spoken to him for years. I thought, 'wouldn't it be nice to see Brendan, just to see if he's working'. Anyway, he had an electric car. He was showing that off. We hated each other."

Brendan's exit came as a shock to Strictly fans and he previously admitted to being upset by the decision to axe him. He appeared on Lorraine after the news broke, saying his contract wasn't renewed by the BBC.

"This is quite hard to talk about. The BBC haven't renewed my contract we get renewed year on year and they made an editorial decision not to have me back on the show. I'm a little bit in shock. I'm quite emotional, a bit raw about it.

"I've always known this day would come... I'm sure I'll never know the ins and outs. I'm a very strong character within the show, I have my strong views," he said at the time.