Craig Revel Horwood has said he wants to see Seann Walsh and Katya Jones do the “dance of shame” on Strictly Come Dancing.
Comedian Seann and Katya, who is married to fellow Strictly dancer Neil Jones, both apologised for making a mistake after The Sun on Sunday published pictures of them kissing in the street earlier this month.
In the wake of the scandal, Seann’s girlfriend Rebecca Humphries released a statement confirming they’ve split and there have been calls for Seann and Katya to be pulled out of Strictly.
However, the show’s judge Craig has insisted it’s important to keep the pair in the competition because they should “get on with the job and show people what you’re made of”.
Read more: Strictly confirms Seann Walsh and Katya Jones won’t quit the show
Speaking on an episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, which will air on Saturday night, Craig and his fellow judges Shirley Ballas and Darcey Bussell discussed the controversy surrounding Seann and Katya.
Craig said: “My take was, keep them in the show, make them do the Dance of Shame, if you like.
“I’m just saying it’s really important if this does happen to you, you face up to it and you either, as they’ve done, apologise which is absolutely fine but get on with the job and show people what you’re made of.”
He added: “If you’re on your Christmas party and you snogged the boss, for instance, you’d still have to do the walk of shame on the Monday, wouldn’t you?
“This happens in every walk of life, it’s not only on Strictly.”
Host Jonathan Ross pointed out at the stars on Strictly are “working in intense environments together”, work together for many hours of the day and “are away from the realities of life outside”.
Craig replied: “You’re right in a way that you are up, close and personal with that person but there has to be something wrong in your relationship before it all goes away, anyway.”
When asked whether they could see any chemistry with Seann and Katya in particular, Craig said: “There was a mild improvement [in their dance this weekend] from the week before but I would not put that down to a snog at the back of a pub, if that’s what you’re asking.
Tune in to Saturday’s show when @wossy will be joined by another amazing line up, including @DarceyOfficial, @MichaelaCoel, @joelycett, @petercrouch, @ShirleyBallas and @CraigRevHorwood, plus a performance from the wonderful @tompeterodell.Don’t miss it! #TheJRShow @ITV @WeAreSTV pic.twitter.com/MTH0WjOIwl
— Jonathan Ross Show (@JRossShow) 11 October 2018
“I would put it down to hard work and having to act through the dance and tell that story.”
Seann and Katya will dance the Charleston this weekend, but it was reported that they were originally supposed to perform a rumba.
Craig admitted he’s disappointed they won’t be doing the “dance of love”.
He told Jonathan: “I wanted to see the rumba, the dance of love, I’m sure everyone wants to see that. That’s one of my favourite dances. You still have to act through it.”
The choreographer also dismissed claims of the show’s “curse”, insisting it only affects those in unhappy relationships.
Speaking about the so-called ‘curse’, Craig said: “I think of it as a blessing, actually, to be honest. When you think of the success stories.
“Obviously the point you’re making in question is very, very different because one person is married, the other one had a girlfriend.
“My point in this entire thing is, if you come on Strictly, sometimes you are in a relationship of course that is not working anyway and people, I have noticed, that if they are in love or are married, end up being absolutely faithful to one another because of that love.
“It doesn’t mean you’re going to fall in love with your partner at any given point.”
On whether they feel the public might vote for Seann and Katya to leave the show in the wake of the kissing scandal, Shirley said: “I would like to think that they judge the dancing and not the relationship or anything else, that it’s purely down to what they see on the viewing on a Saturday evening and that they judge the dancing.”
It comes after Seann and Katya appeared on Strictly’s spinoff show, It Takes Two, on Wednesday night to apologise for their actions.
Read more: Seann Walsh’s girlfriend breaks silence after Katya Jones kiss
During the chat, Katya insisted she and her husband fellow Strictly dancer Neil jones are “absolutely fine” following her drunken kiss with Seann.
Meanwhile, Seann, who apologised for the “hurt” he had caused with his actions.
* The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday at 9:50 pm on ITV.
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