Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood hits Shaun Wright Phillips and Graeme Hall with major back-handed compliments
A bit harsh, no?Strictly Come Dancing‘s Craig Revel Horwood has laid into Shaun Wright Phillips while also branding Graeme Hall a ‘dad dancer’.
The Strictly judge made his frank comments during an appearance on spin-off show It Takes Two.
Craig was invited onto the BBC2 programme to give his rundown on the latest ballroom performances.
And when it came to footballer Shaun and TV dog trainer Graeme, he didn’t hold back.
Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood slates Shaun Wright Phillips and Graeme Hall
Craig ran through all of last weekend’s Icons Week performances with It Takes Two host Ellie Taylor on Tuesday evening (October 20, 2026).
But when it came to Shaun and Graeme, he delivered two very backhanded compliments.
Shaun had performed a Couple’s Choice with his dance partner Alexis Warr in Icons Week. They danced to a James Brown medley.
The pair were awarded a total score of 28, having received 7s from all of the judges. This placed them in joint fifth place with Graeme and his partner Lauren Oakley.
Craig was quick to praise Shaun’s efforts – but then he issued a very low blow.
He said: “It was such humungous leap and it was a leap of faith. I mean, this is totally brilliant – but technically dreadful.”
Craig’s comment sparked an outcry from the production staff, to which he shot back with: “Just saying!”
Craig then went on to accuse Graeme of “dad dancing”. The Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly star had performed an ABBA-inspired Salsa with Lauren.
Laughing, Craig – who also gave them a 7 on the night – said: “I still can’t comprehend why I love his dancing so much. It’s a bit dad dancing at a wedding. But with good technique.
“It’s an odd thing – you’d think he’d had a couple of drinks and was up there at a party giving it large.”
What are the Strictly Come Dancing songs and dances this weekend?
Strictly has already revealed a lot of this weekend’s songs and dances. Week 5 of the competition isn’t a themed-week and it will see the return of Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington following her injury.
Delta and Kai’s haven’t been officially announced. Insiders, however, claim they will be returning with a Rhumba to Celine Dion’s It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.
Strictly has confirmed Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola will be dancing a Tango to Atomic by Blondie. Graeme and Lauren have also been given a Tango. They will be performing to Hernando’s Hideaway by The Johnson Brothers.
Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu are dancing a Foxtrot to Olivia Dean’s Man I Need. It’s a ChaCha for Will Best and Dianne Buswell. Will has just become a dad, so his song is Daddy by Della Reese.
Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita are doing their Couple’s Choice this weekend. Their chosen track is Olivia Dean’s Stupid Song.
Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał are pulling out their best Jive moves to Fatboy Slim’s The Rockafeller Skank. Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby will be doing a ChaCha to Beggin’ by Maneskin.
We eagerly await the rest of them!
