Craig Revel Horwood fights tears over abusive dad 'I thought I'd be killed'

became emotional on ITV's Loose Women today while speaking about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his late father. The judge appeared on to speak about his one-man show Revelations - in which he speaks about his relationship with his father Phil.

Speaking on Loose Women, Craig admitted that he was so scared of his father that he wouldn't bring people home from school. "It was so bad that he tried to shoot [my mother] and my brother-in-law. He went to prison but only for a short time because mum released the charges," he said.

"My mother, bless her, did not know what to do. Everyone said, 'Why didn't you just leave him?' but it wasn't possible at that stage."

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Craig added that out of his family of five children, the eldest three were abused by his father, who died in 2015. "There were three of us who were abused. We couldn't bring people home from school - we were too scared," he said.

When asked whether he spoke to anyone about the abuse, Craig said: "No, I kept his drinking a secret. If he ever found out, I thought I'd be killed. It was real, proper abuse and it was horrible to come home to from school. It became worse when he left the Navy and didn't have a job. Then he was a functioning alcohol for a long time."

Despite his father's behaviour, Craig said that he could not spend the rest of his life loathing him. "That's what I talk about [in the show] - it was going to be a love or hate thing," he said.

"I thought, 'I don't want to live the rest of my life hating my father.'"

While Craig was unable to attend his funeral due to work commitments, he paid tribute to him by singing his favourite song, Frank Sinatra's My Way, on stage.

Last week, Craig said in an : "There is no other judge. I created it. They are either dead or have been sacked. I get booed heavily but I enjoy playing the villain."

If you are 18 or under and have been affected by this story, you can contact Childline, confidentially on 0800 1111. You can also contact the NSPCC Helpline by phoning 0808 800 500 or emailing . If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.

* This is a breaking showbiz news story. Join The Mirror’s or follow us on , , Apple News, , , , , , and - or visit The Mirror homepage.