Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has looked back on his season one feud with pro dancer Brendan Cole.
The judge has reminisced on his past disagreement with Brendan – half of the very first Strictly winning pairing with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky – describing him as his archenemy in those early episodes.
Back in 2004, Craig was brought on board to judge the Strictly couples along with Arlene Phillips, Bruno Tonioli and the late Len Goodman.
Related: Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood responds to rumour he's quitting the show
Reflecting on 20 years since Strictly's first-ever episode in a chat with Radio Times, Craig explained that he was asked to critique rehearsal footage of Brendan and Natasha for his judging screen test.
"In my screen test I had to judge footage of two contestants rehearsing. I said, 'She can hardly walk down the stairs, and the professional has the bowest legs I've ever seen'," he recalled.
"That couple was Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole, and they went on to win it."
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Craig ended up reassessing his judgement throughout the season, but still described Brendan and himself as "archenemies" as he recalled their exchanges throughout that series.
"As for Brendan, we really were archenemies. He was very mouthy and he'd say, 'Oh, what would you know?'" Craig recalled.
"So I secretly studied ballroom with Len's wife Sue, because knowledge is power."
Related: Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood responds to Amanda Abbington row
Craig also shared his concerns about the initial show pitch, recalling: "They explained that celebrities would be learning to dance in three weeks and I said, 'That's impossible, that sounds like car-crash television'."
"By the end of that series it was nail-bitingly exciting," he added, noting that the show "won the hearts and minds of a nation".
Craig has been on the Strictly judge panel ever since that first season. He now shares his duties with Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas.
Brendan starred on 15 seasons of Strictly, leaving the show at the end of 2017. He and Craig were also on the judging panel of Dancing with the Stars in New Zealand at the same time between 2007 and 2009.
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Tickets for Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals live tour are available now.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
