'Strictly Come Dancing' judge Craig Revel Horwood gives his honest opinion on Anton Du Beke

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'Strictly Come Dancing' added Anton to the judging panel recently, and he quickly became a fan favourite!

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood
Strictly Come Dancing just Craig Revel Horwood has had his say on fellow judge Anton Du Beke. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final is coming up this weekend, with the judging panel giving their verdicts for the last time until the 2022 series. 

Ahead of the big episode, Craig Revel Horwood has opened up about having Anton Du Beke on the judging panel, stepping in for series regular Bruno Tonioli. This is the second year Anton has covered, previously working as a professional dancer since the very first series.

Speaking to Best Magazine, Craig cited Anton's experience working with celebrities as an asset to his judging ability. He said: "Anton’s a great addition, he knows the process of working with celebrities inside-out, he’s been there.

"Particularly with celebs that haven’t been ‘gifted’, he’s had to maneuver them around that dancefloor – and he’s been with great dancers, where he could show off his talents."

Craig went on to talk about their differing judging styles, adding: "Armed with all that information, he’s showing great empathy for the celebs – he’s more lenient than me. And he’s funny. Long may it continue, he’s a good egg, Anton."

"We’re topping and tailing the ladies on the panel, poor things – except we’re about five meters apart, plus there are Perspex screens! We have to lean forward to chat to each other, but that just adds to the fun."

"You can say, “Sorry, Anton, I didn’t hear a word you said, darling…” We do love to play Good Cop, Bad Cop.’"

Strictly Come Dancing judges

Craig says Anton is a brilliant addition to the judging panel.  (Image credit: BBC)

On Saturday night, Craig, Anton, Shirley and Motsi will have the tricky decision of judging the final three couples: Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice, John Whaite and Johannes Radebe, and AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington.

It's not yet known if Anton will return as judge next year, or if he'll go back to the dance floor as a professional. But if you can't get enough of him and the rest of the Strictly panel don't worry, because they'll be back for the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 Christmas special on December 25th!

The Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final airs on BBC1 at 7pm on Saturday Dec 18. Don't miss it!

Lucy Buglass
Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress!