Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed he applies his own make-up before the live shows, admitting he prefers to do it himself rather than have a make-up team in his dressing room.
The 61-year-old, who has always done his own make-up, said: "I think most normal actors are aware of that. You are trained to do your own make up. I was amazed when I went into television that you could sit in a chair and someone else does it."
Pre-Show Routine
Speaking about his weekend routine, he explained: "I have resorted on Strictly for instance to doing my own. I just prefer it, I don't like all the fuss, no bother, I don't like all the knocks on the door. I sit quietly and read a book and take my mind off everything so I can go out and judge seriously in that way."
Craig was speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, where he discussed his latest book, The Book of Panto, published by Faber and Faber.
Panto Parallels
He maintained that Strictly Come Dancing shares numerous parallels with festive stage productions, remarking: "Strictly I suppose is panto-esque. We have cheering and people shouting and that is good. What is great is it has a sense of humour and it is on TV but it includes people at home from 3 to 93 and there are not many live shows that do that."
He added: "And certainly there are not many things on TV that creates the same community values and the wokeness is great because it brings in everyone and I think that is great. And the more they keep changing up panto and making it current the better it is."
Changing Views on Panto
Craig acknowledged he used to be "naive" and "a bit of a snob" regarding pantomime before being converted after watching productions in the UK and subsequently starring in them himself. He now regards them as a vital component of the theatre landscape, both for the financial injection they provide and because they help draw children away from screens during the Christmas season.
He said: "I think it is great and I always had a thought that panto does a lot of good for all of theatre. I think if children weren't exposed to theatre from a young age they would probably never go. They would rather be sitting at home on an iPad or an iPhone playing a game."
"What panto does is introduces children to theatre and what is great about it is the fact these kids can come along and seen and heard."
Everyone Can Dance
Craig will return to screens this weekend on Strictly and is adamant that anybody has the potential to be an accomplished dancer. He said: "Everyone can dance, I believe that. It doesn't matter if you have a disability, it doesn't matter who you are in society."
He added: "Dance has been around for millions of years, birds do it to mate, caveman dancing around fire for fertility. People communicating with their bodies before they could talk. Dance has been around forever."
"As much as people say they have two left feet they are scared of making a fool of themselves, you should dance like no one's watching, and people do at weddings."
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
