Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood unrecognisable as he dances with face full of make-up in routine

Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood is unrecognisable as he danced with face full of make-up in a new routine for Sunday’s results show.

The sharp-tongued judge, 59, took to the dancefloor alongside Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke for a stunning performance with the BBC One show’s professional dancers. In exclusive snaps, Craig can be seen dressed extravagantly, complete with a long blonde gothic wig, and a glamorous black velvet suit. While seated on a gilded red throne, he’s flanked by dancers Kai Widdrington, Nikita Kuzmin and Carlos Gu, as well as Dianne Buswell, Nancy Xu and Amy Dowden, who made a triumphant return to the show last week.

The dramatic performance will see the four judges battle for the throne in an avant-garde gothic tango to the iconic songs When Doves Cry by Prince, and Blue Monday by New Order. And as Craig brings the drama to the dancefloor, Motsi heats up the Strictly studio in steamy snaps of her posing proactively in a sheer dress as she takes her place on the throne. While in another snap, Shirley beams broadly as she is led around the dancefloor by Anton, who will delight fans as he performs on the other side of the judges’ podiums for a change.

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Craig has had an impressive career as a dancer, choreographer and director, but his dancing days were almost over when he suffered an injury that left him in “crippling” agony. While performing in panto in 2013, Craig thought he had torn a ligament, but he later discovered he had a much more serious condition that required extensive surgery. “I was stunned when the doctor told me I had arthritis and needed a hip replacement. I was only 48,” he told The Mirror in 2014.

“Basically, I had worn out both hip joints from dancing and ballet, and it was made worse by the fact that I have arthritis. My mother suffers from ­rheumatoid arthritis but I have ­osteoarthritis,” he explained, adding that he had put his body through “an enormous amount of stress and strain.” Craig, who is a patron of the National Osteoporosis Society, suffered from an eating disorder when he was younger which impacted the health of his bones. “I was also anorexic when I was younger, which didn’t help, because it causes malnutrition of the bones, coupled with the dancing, which makes it worse.”

Since his diagnosis, he has had two hip replacement surgeries - one in 2013 and another in 2018, and he admitted his doctor “had a fit” when he saw him performing “a few spins” on Strictly just weeks after his second op. “It’s been a new lease of life and wonderful to be pain free. It can get depressing dealing with chronic pain every day,” Craig shared.

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