Strictly star Craig Revel Horwood
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Strictly star Craig Revel Horwood’s ‘lifelong battle with body dysmorphia’

Craig has always been about his struggles in the past

Strictly Come Dancing star Craig Revel Horwood had a “lifelong” struggle with body dysmorhpia and anorexia.

The 55-year-old star previously opened up in interviews about his battles.

Craig Revel Horwood - Strictly Come Dancing 2021 judges line-up
Craig opened up about the eating disorders (Credit: BBC)

What did Strictly star Craig Revel Horwood say about eating disorders?

In past interviews, Craig has always been honest about his battles with weight growing up.

Bullied as a child because of his weight, in the Daily Mail in 2008 he wrote that food became his “comfort blanket”.

Read more: Craig Revel Horwood’s family heartache after father went on drunken gun rampage

As a youngster, he’d gorge himself on anything he could get his hands on, he said.

He explained this would include “the leftovers of the fat-laden fry-ups my father would make in a haze after a bender”.

Craig Revel Horwood on Strictly come Dancing
Craig as viewers love him… as judge on Strictly (Credit: BBC)

What happened when he became dancer?

However, it was when he fell in love with dancing that things started to change.

He wrote in the Mail: “I went for four years surviving on lettuce alone.”

Craig also developed body dysmorphia, a mental health condition where a person worries over a particular perceived flaw in their body.

He added at the time: “I was quite chubby, so when I started dancing professionally I had to work hard to stay slim.

“This led to a lifelong struggle with anorexia and body dysmorphia. I still battle with my food demons, but I’m much better at keeping them under control.”

Strictly star Craig Revel Horwood
Craig said it’s an ongoing battle (Credit: SplashNews.com)

What else did Craig Revel Horwood say?

His battles with the eating disorder improved once he made the switch to choreography.

Read more: Craig and Bruno’s Great British Road Trips star Craig Revel Horwood on how lockdown ‘made him and fiancé stronger’

In the same interview, however, Craig says he still had to be careful.

At the time, he said he would “tend to overeat now” but it was “not so much of an obsession anymore”.

Meanwhile, last year, Craig opened up about his battles again and said plastic surgery helped him become more confident.

He said on White Wine Question Time podcast, the dancer said: “I had breast tissue that I couldn’t get rid of no matter what.

“No amount of muscle can make that go away, so I had to have it surgically removed.

“When I took the bandages off, I just started crying in the mirror because it was the first time I’d had a flat chest.”

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor