Craig Revel Horwood calls for Simon Cowell to join Strictly

Watch Craig Revel Horwood call for Simon Cowell to join Strictly Come Dancing

What did you miss?

Craig Revel Horwood joined Lorraine Kelly for a chat on her talkshow on 2 January, where the pair discussed his Strictly Come Dancing wish list.

The longest-serving judge on the Strictly panel - he's been there since the very start, 20 years ago - Horwood explained to the Scottish presenter why Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor boss Simon Cowell's casting would be a dream come true for him.

What, how and why?

"Have all the judges got a sort of wish list?" asked Kelly, referring to the famous folk Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Horwood are desperate to see compete in the ballroom.

"Well we always dream of royalty," Horwood admitted over video link from Wimbledon. "But I would say I would love to see Simon Cowell on it. I think he'd suit the costumes, I think his wit would be brilliant - his dry sense of humour, I would love - it would be a sort of taste of his own medicine really I suppose..."

Cowell has of course cultivated a reputation as an acerbic analyst during his years working in reality television, so having the roles reversed would make undoubtedly fascinating entertainment.

For years, Strictly and X Factor were rivals in the battle of TV ratings. But in 2022, Cowell finally admitted that he watched Strictly. At the time, he said on The One Show: "I watch it now. I never used to watch it obviously. You know it was like at the time - don’t even mention the word!"

What else happened on Lorraine?

Meanwhile, Horwood told his host all about the upcoming Strictly Live Tour, which'll visit various cities across the UK. "I love [it] because it's the first time I really get to actually meet the celebrities, because we're very separate during the show and of course this year we've got Ellie [Leach], we've got Layton [Williams], we've got Bobby [Brazier], we've got the two Angelas [Rippon and Scanlon], we've got Krishnan [Guru Murthy]; Annabel [Croft] is there with us as well, so it's a fantastic line-up.

"No expense is spared on this particular live tour, we've got huge sets and fantastic costumes," he added. "I'll let you into a secret: we're actually gonna do the Barbie number which I cannot wait to do, so that's gonna be fun. It's so different Lorraine, seeing it live, because the sparkles are more effervescent that you can possibly imagine!"

Read more:

• Strictly fans annoyed at Craig Revel Horwood over lack of 10 scores

• Simon Cowell addresses David Walliams' departure from Britain's Got Talent

• Simon Cowell 'felt sick' every time he heard a Kylie song after turning down record deal

Watch: Craig Revel Horwood gives standing ovation to 'best Charleston in 20 years'