As a television judge herself for the past 11 years, Michelle Visage sees similarities between her and Craig Revel Horwood’s judging styles
(Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)Michelle Visage said she believes TV judges are “too soft” on contestants as she defended Craig Revel Horwood‘s scoring on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The judge, 57, had a fiery exchange with Shirley Ballas on Saturday night after he failed to lift his 10 paddle for Helen Skelton’s quickstep. This was despite the rest of the judging panel giving her a perfect score.
Revel Horwood, who has been a judge on the show since it started in 2004, is infamously hard to please. He gave his first 10 of the season only on Saturday night to Fleur East.
As a television judge herself for the past 11 years, Visage sees similarities between her and Revel Horwood’s judging styles. She applauded him for staying true to what he believes, despite being harshly scored by him in the 2019 series of Strictly.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star, 54, was partnered with Giovanni Pernice and was sent home after the Australia-born choreographer memorably gave her Madonna-inspired performance a four.
Reflecting on Revel Horwood’s scores so far this year, Visage told The Standard: “What Craig says is right.
“I think most judges are too soft so if this is a real competition, judge. I’ve been out there, I got judged, I know how hard it is.
“We’re dancing our butts off eight hours a day, six days a week. I’ve never danced, it’s the hardest thing I ever did.
“I put my all into it and if I got a four, then I got a four, it’s just the reality of that.
“Some people just aren’t good, why should they get a seven if their dance was really a four?
Visage, who is helping the airline Virgin Atlantic to promote its updated gender policy, said children needed to learn the harsh realities of competition.
“At the end of the day, this is what ruins society in certain ways,” she said. “When kids get a participation medal when they didn’t practise, they didn’t train and the kids that came first, second and third, they worked their bums off, so why should they get the same gift that the kid who came 27th ?
“They shouldn’t.
“The 27th-place person should have worked harder, that’s life. Life is not handed to you. You got to work hard to survive and to win.”
Visage added that viewers need to remember that Revel Horwood’s scores aren’t based on the person but their dance.
“I think Craig is doing the right thing by saying what the dance was, not what the human is, it’s what the dance is.”
