Craig Revel Horwood isn’t known as Strictly’s ‘Mr Nasty’ for nothing, and he recently made some pretty cutting comments about TOWIE star Gemma Collins.
The Strictly judge, 52, responded to reports that Gemma wanted to appear on the BBC dancing show by claiming that she’s not ‘high-calibre’ enough.
But now, the outspoken blonde has hit back, insisting that she might just surprise a few people if she ever got her chance to compete on the dancefloor.
Back in October, Gemma took a tumble while presenting a gong at the BBC’s Radio 1 Teen Awards, and afterwards it was claimed that she would accept a slot on a future series of Strictly as compensation.
At the time, The Sun quoted a ‘source’ as saying: “Gemma’s deadly serious about the Strictly trade-off.
“She said to the BBC that she will not pursue legal action if they give her a slot on Strictly Come Dancing.”
However, Craig was less than generous in his response to the newspaper report.
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He wrote in his Woman Magazine column: “Gemma Collins would be fun on the show, but it’s not very often that we have reality stars take to the ballroom. We generally have people of a higher calibre than that.”
But Gemma – who’s already appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Celebrity Big Brother – says she’s determined to prove her worth on the programme.
She told OK! magazine: “We all have to start somewhere. I’ll burst onto that dancefloor and show them what a samba is! [Craig] won’t know what’s hit him.”
And Gemma, who claims she was once crowned South-East England Champion for dancing, added: “It’s a shame if they take that dim view of me, because they’re ultimately missing out – my hips don’t lie!”
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She even went so far as to reveal who she would like as her dance partner on the programme – Italian star Giovanni Pernice.
Admitted Gemma: “I like them tall, dark and handsome, with swept-back hair so I can run my fingers through it on the dancefloor. I also like Anton du Beke or Gorka.”
Craig Revel Horwood certainly hasn’t been a wallflower during this series of Strictly.
Last month, his shockingly low score of four contributed to Aston Merrygold and Janette Manrara being booted off the show in one of its biggest ever upsets.
And in the same week, he got up from his seat and dropped to his knees to heap praise on Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice following their Tango.