Craig Revel Horwood has revealed that the worst Christmas present he ever received actually ended up costing him money.
TheStrictly Come Dancing judge will appear in a festive special alongside Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke to judge six celebrities competing on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Show.
In the run up to the show, which will air on Christmas Day, the 57-year-old Australian-British choreographer was asked about best and worst Christmas presents, alongside his co-hosts.
“The best Christmas present I’ve ever received was my GI Joe helicopter,” he recalled.
“The worst was a tea towel from Australia worth £1.99 and I had to pay £20 at the Post Office to get it out of customs.”
For Mabuse, who runs a dance school in Germany with her husband Evgenij Voznyuk, the best Christmas present she was ever given was her engagement ring, and the worst “was a fitness package”.
Ballas revealed she received “cheap underwear” which turned into a rag that “you’d do your polishing with” after one wash caused the elastic band to break.
Revel Horwood then revealed that his favourite song was “Christmas Merry Christmas” performed by himself and Rietta Austin.
He added that the track made it to number 25 on the charts.
Meanwhile, Mabuse chose “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, Du Beke went for Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” and Ballas picked “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby.
The Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing will include competitors such as CBeebies presenter George Webster, Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts, and actor Larry Lamb.
Soap star Alexandra Mardell, DJ Rickie Haywood-Williams, and podcaster Rosie Ramsey will also be joining the line-up.
Ballas said: “I’m hoping that we some nice dancing, some lovely little footwork and some hip action.
“Normally when they only have to dance once everybody gets all nervous, but I’m hoping that they’ll realise it is a Christmas special, it’s for fun.”
Du Beke added: “That’s the thing about Strictly Christmas, it’s joyous. It’s just brilliant. I love the fantastic costumes, the 25-ft Christmas tree, the way they dress the studio. It really does feel like Christmas.”
Additional reporting by PA
