Strictly Come Dancing star has eyes on judging role as she admits 'Craig has gone soft'

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A former Strictly Come Dancing star has claimed Craig Revel Horwood has 'gone soft' in comparison to how he 'used to be' on the BBC One show.

Craig, 59, is known for being a tough judge to please on Strictly and tends to refrain from giving out high scores unless someone has really impressed him. He currently sits on the panel alongside Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.

However, professional dancer Erin Boag, who appeared on the first 10 series of Strictly, has claimed that while Craig is still the 'harshest' of the judges, he's softened over recent series.

She also opened up about the possibility of making a return to Strictly, admitting she'd prefer to be a judge over a professional on the show now.

Speaking on behalf of Slingo, Erin said: "I’m a little upset that Craig seems to have gone soft on them. He’s still the harshest of the judges but, compared to what he used to be, I miss all those little digs. He doesn’t give out 10s still, but Craig Revel Horwood has gone soft."

Craig Revel Horwood is known for being tough to impress on Strictly (Image: BBC)

Revealing her hopes of one day joining Craig on the panel, she continued: "Of course I would go back as a judge. I don’t know if I’d want to be a professional on the show now because it’s not just Blackpool but everything else that goes along with it, it takes up a lot of time and life changes as you get older. As a different role, of course. Not a role that would take up every second of my life."

Despite thinking Craig has softenened, Erin praised him for "speaking the truth" on Strictly. The dancer added: "Craig is the only one who really speaks the truth. You need that on a show like Strictly, and you need that more. I wish the world wasn’t so proper, get on with it. You are competing, it is an entertainment show. You can’t expect to get good comments all the time, especially if you go out there and you don’t dance well."

Erin Boag was previously a Strictly pro (Image: Getty) window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20241119.min.js"

Craig, Motsi, Shirley and Anton make up the Strictly judges panel (Image: BBC ) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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Erin revealed she's still in regular contact with Anton, who she regularly danced with professionally. She claimed he doesn't have favourite contestants on Strictly and is focused only on dancing.

"I often speak to him, not really about his choices, because I don't like to pry into that. The obvious doesn’t matter, he doesn’t judge people’s characteristics, and puts it all aside. It’s about the dancing and what he sees in front of him," Erin went on.

"Unfortunately, we are in a world where you have to watch what you say. It takes one sentence and you’re gone. They will be highly trained, the judges, on what they can and can’t say. I’m sure they’ve all got their notes, what we would like is to have a look at the notebooks!"

Strictly Come Dancing returns this Saturday at 7.05pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Strictly Come Dancing star has eyes on judging role as she admits 'Craig has gone soft'

Strictly Come Dancing star has eyes on judging role as she admits 'Craig has gone soft'

Strictly Come Dancing star has eyes on judging role as she admits 'Craig has gone soft'

Strictly Come Dancing star has eyes on judging role as she admits 'Craig has gone soft'

Strictly Come Dancing star has eyes on judging role as she admits 'Craig has gone soft'