Strictly fans were surprised by Craig's unusual behaviour in the first live show of the new series. The usually hard-to-please judge dished out some unusually high scores and positive comments to the celebrities and their partners.
After Craig gave a 6 to Eastenders star James Bye and partner Amy's Jive to What I Like About You by The Romantics, while Motsi and Shirley awarded them only 5, even Anton DuBeke declared: "I'm concerned about Craig!".
Craig was also full of encouragement for Bros singer Matt Goss and Nadiya Bychkova after their quickstep to Sir Duke by the Chris Walden Big Band. Shirley Ballas said the performance had “potential”, but suggested they go back to the drawing board and work on Goss’s technique.
However Craig disagreed and said he thought the other judges were all being “very nasty”. He added: "I liked that, it was punchy.”
When Loose Women star Kaye Adams and Kai Widdrington took on the tango to Voulez-Vouz by Abba for their first dance of the series, Craig admitted he was initially nervous after seeing her at the launch show, - then said he “really, really liked her”.
However the arrival of footballer Tony Adams seemed to herald the return of the sharp-tongued Craig fans know and love. The judge appeared speechless initially after the former Arsenal and England star danced the tango with Katya Jones dressed in red jerseys.
Craig said it appeared as though his shoes were glued to the floor at times. After receiving boos from the audience for his comments, he added that he did have positive remarks, saying: “It had attack and it had aggression.”
Fans on Twitter were taken aback by Craig's newfound positivity. Sara Barker said: "I like how even the dancers and judges are like "is Craig OK?" Emsmusicalmind wrote: "Erm…is Craig Revel Horwood ok? He’s being really positive this week."
@Linda_Dwan said: "Ok, what have you given to Craig?! He’s way too mellow & nice, po faced Craig is what I came here for!". PKaur added: "Has someone swapped Craig?? Is he ok?"
Chrissie72 added: "Is Craig ok? He's being quite generous tonight."
This week's scores will be carried over to next week's show, when the first couple will be voted out.
