Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood reveals he was stabbed on holiday in Spain

| TV Reporter Published August 4, 2026 9:39am Updated August 4, 2026 10:11am The Strictly judge recounted the incident to his BBC colleague, Anton Du Beke (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock) BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed he was ‘slashed’ in the stomach while holidaying in a Spanish city. The 61-year-old said he once ‘went on a holiday in Madrid and got stabbed’. In the same incident, Revel Horwood also had his jewellery stolen and was left with a burn mark on his neck. He was recounting his travels to pal and fellow Strictly star Anton Du Beke, with whom he has been on the dancing competition show with since it began in 2004. The pair were talking on their new podcast, Judgemental, in an episode about summer holidays. Get personalised updates on Strictly Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Revel Horwood described the crime scene and said it was ‘stinking hot’ when he was coming home from a club at around two in the morning and attacked with a razor blade. The pair have been hosting their podcast together since June this year (Picture: ITV) But the stressful series of events didn’t end there. Revel Horwood described returning to Paris, where he was based at the time, and getting strip searched. Post-Madrid he said he hadn’t shaved and ‘did look a bit of a wreck’. He painted the picture: ‘I’ve been stabbed. I had burn marks all around my neck from where I was attacked. And then the French strip searched me down to literally nothing.’ The choreographer clarified to his co-host that the interrogation left him totally naked, as they were looking for drugs. Du Beke asked where they were searching for the contraband, and Revel Horwood replied: ‘Up my bottom, everywhere.’ He said the whole experience was ‘horrific’. Revel Horwood danced in Paris, the West End and across the UK before he began his career on Strictly (Picture: Shutterstock) The famously harsh Strictly judge started dancing at the Lido de Paris on the Champs-Élysées when he was in his early twenties. He told Virgin Radio in 2022: ‘I thought, “Well, 23, I’ve got a great body. This isn’t going to last forever.” And I thought: “Well, I may as well show it off in Paris.”‘ Speaking about other nightmare holiday scenarios, Revel Horwood also said he once flew to Mombasa in Kenya, only to find his hotel had burnt down before his arrival. Not short of holiday anecdotes, he then shared that he once went on a ‘very romantic cruise down the River Nile’, but it didn’t end well. He claimed cruise passengers, including himself, ate off chicken the night before boarding their flight home from Egypt and were horrendously ill with salmonella. ‘It was all good fun until the flight’, he remarked. Judgemental is available to listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and Rayo. Deals of the Day Wuka launches the UK’s first period-proof swimwear for heavy flows Bridgerton fans are rushing to buy these new Netflix-inspired perfumes now £12 off The affordable summer wardrobe update you'll wear from rooftop drinks to beach holidays The £7.99 lip balm beauty fans love for glossy, hydrated lips just dropped four new shades This Keskine hydrogel mask could fix your summer skin Arrow MORE: Comedian ‘lined up to present Strictly: It Takes Two’ after hosts were axed Arrow MORE: Every star in Strictly’s 2026 line-up as former England footballer joins cast Arrow MORE: Strictly has the best line-up in years but the BBC is doing it a disservice TV Newsletter Sign up and tell us which TV shows you love to watch to get personalised updates every morning.