Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has spoken about how dance helped him escape the abuse he suffered at home, which nearly ended in tragedy.
Dance as an escape
The 61-year-old long-serving judge has opened up about the alcoholism that plagued his father, Philip, which almost cost his mother and his brother-in-law their lives. His father, a former Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant who died from cancer in 2015 at the age of 74, fought a battle with alcohol that had devastating consequences.
Craig has always been candid about his turbulent upbringing, describing his father as an alcoholic whose behaviour turned abusive and volatile when he drank. Things got so bad that he moved 10,000 miles away from home and says dancing helped keep his life on track as a teenager.
A violent past
Philip spent years in prison for attempted murder and was dubbed "Shotgun Phil" for terrifying his family with a loaded weapon while raging drunk. Craig has opened up about his torment and says he had no other option but to flee the moment he could.
Craig said there was "a good reason" why he lived 10,000 miles away from home. He also danced with Queen Camilla and says his love of the arts saved him.
Finding freedom in dance
"I used dance to escape abuse at home, that was my freedom," he told The Times. "So I found my place in life, and it certainly was not at home with my father."
"It was just so abusive at home. That's the reason I started dancing as. He wasn't a villain sober, he was a villain drunk. It took dad going to prison for attempted murder for people to get wise to it."
"If I had my life over I would say, 'Mum, leave Dad. Just leave him. You'll be all right. In those days you couldn't. How would she survive? Five kids, by herself. She wasn't in a position to leave. But you shouldn't have to put up with it.'"
Childhood memories and an apology
Craig lashed out at his dad in his autobiography, All Balls and Glitter. He told how he fled his father's drunken rages, once hiding under a bed as a seven-year-old after being found plastered with lipstick.
In his book, written nearly two decades ago, Craig said: "He chased me all round the house, shouting 'Don't ever let me catch you dressed like that again!' and I held my breath under a bed, praying he wouldn't find me."
In 2013, his violent and boozy dad apologised for terrorising him as a boy. "I think people don't realise how dangerous alcohol can be," he said, two years before his death. "Poor dad had a disease. You are right about me treating you badly, but I'm so proud of you now."
"I never thought I was some kind of demon. But I was under a lot of pressure after I joined the Navy and I suppose the drink got hold of me. Before then, I didn't drink or swear at all but I was in a real man's world and there was heavy peer pressure to become one of the boys."
Craig spoke after his dad's death 11 years ago, saying: "When he died, I made the decision that I was going to learn to love him and also love who he could have been. I think people don't realise how dangerous alcohol can be. Poor dad had a disease."
