Strictly judge and superfan Craig Revel Horwood gives TV Times his verdict on the all-singing, all-dancing cast of Mamma Mia!, which makes its network premiere on ITV1 on Saturday. "I’ve seen the film three times, and I think it’s great, " says Craig. "It was a brave thing to do, because trying to create a story purely from songs is no mean feat. What was great was the fact that it was a good story and it’s great that it brought musical theatre to the big screen. As a choreographer, it’s your job to work with people’s strengths rather than weaknesses and make them look good, and I think that’s what the film does." Craig on Meryl Streep "I think Meryl gave the best overall performance in the film. I don’t think a lot of people necessarily knew she could sing, but she showed off her vocal talent and ability wonderfully. When she sang The Winner Takes it All near the end of the film most of the audience had a tear in their eye!" Craig on Pierce Brosnan "A lot of the film is pretty tongue-in-cheek, particularly when Pierce is trying to give it a big old vocal. He’s not the best singer in the world, and I think the movie proved that! He was a bit like a fish out of water, but I think that’s what people liked. His dancing was equally tongue-in-cheek, and that’s being polite! But I think that gave it a sense of reality, which is good fun." Craig on Colin Firth "Colin showed a few more musical skills, and he’s a very fine actor indeed. I think what he did as well was live through the character, which was very good too." Craig on Julie Walters "I thought Julie definitely held her own against Meryl, and I love the scene where she slides down the banister – I was just in fits of laughter when I saw that! It was just brilliant." *Mamma Mia! screens on ITV1 on Saturday, April 9 at 7pm
