Craig Revel Horwood reveals Nicole Scherzinger as his dream 'Strictly Come Dancing' judge

Nicole Scherzinger could be in the frame to take on the currently vacant chair at the Strictly Come Dancing judging desk, according to veteran panellist Craig Revel Horwood.

Horwood, who has served on the panel since the BBC dance show began in 2004, said the former Pussycat Dolls singer would be a “fabulous” replacement for Darcey Bussell, who announced her departure earlier this month.

Read more: Carlos Acosta in frame for Strictly judging role

The 54-year-old judge made the comments in an interview with TV Week in Australia to tie in with the final of that country’s Dancing With the Stars, on which he is also the villainous judge.

Horwood said: “[Nicole] would be fabulous. And Anton du Beke definitely wants to do it. I’d love to see Nicole, or Carlos [Acosta].

“But nobody has actually expressed anything to me. And I’m generally the last to find out.”

He also had some kind words for Bussell, saying he had bonded with her in the years since she first took up a seat on the judging panel.

He said: “People like to move on and she wants to do other things. I encourage that, and change is good.”

The judge also weighed in on the controversy surrounding the most recent Strictly winner Stacey Dooley and her rumoured relationship with dance partner Kevin Clifton.

Read more: Stacey Dooley breaks silence over Strictly romance

Horwood said he wished the pair “good luck” and dismissed the idea of a ‘Strictly curse’.

He added: “There’s got to be something wrong with the relationship for something to go wrong in the first place.

“If you have a strong loving relationship in the first place, that stuff just doesn’t happen.”

Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC screens in the autumn.