Craig Revel Horwood: I thought Strictly would be car-crash television
He thought it would be off the air in three weeks.
Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has said he thought the show would be a disaster when it first aired in 2004.
Revel Horwood was part of the original line-up of judges, alongside Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Arlene Phillips, but thought it would not last long.
He told a BBC Radio 5 live documentary: “Show one, series one, it was May of 2004. I recall it well,” the Daily Mirror reported.
“I said, ‘It’ll be the end of my career’. And I really thought it would be off in three weeks. Len and I, after the first show, said, ‘That was absolutely terrible.
“‘No one’s going to think that’s a good idea. How can it possibly be a good idea getting a celebrity to try and learn in one month what it’s taken most dancers since the age of three to do in 10 to 15 years?'”
He said: “Way back then, we had a very low budget, no one knew what we were doing.”
Revel Horwood added. “I think we spent about two-and-a-half pence on the scenery, and about 10p on the lighting.
“After about two weeks, three weeks, the popularity was just growing and growing. It’s just insane, actually. It’s been sold on to over 56 countries worldwide. What other BBC show’s ever done that?”
He revealed: “When we went in for our first meeting, it was called Pro Celebrity Come Dancing. It was supposed to be sort of a take on the old golf shows.
Puttin’ On The Glitz: The Strictly Story is on Radio 5 live on Saturday at 8pm.
