Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed he was stabbed and slashed with a razor blade during a mugging on holiday in Madrid in 1988.
Craig spoke about the attack on his Judgemental podcast, which he co-hosts with fellow Strictly judge Anton Du Beke. He took the trip to Madrid during a break from performing in Panache at the Lido de Paris.
"I went on holiday in Madrid and got stabbed, that was nice, and it was stinking hot," Craig said. "My jewellery was stolen as well, they ripped my necklace off my neck and gave me a big burn mark. It was a razor blade."
He said the stabbing happened as he walked home from a club at around two in the morning. "I was slashed [in the] stomach coming home from a club, it was probably two o'clock in the morning, but that's sort of normal, you go out for dinner at 10 or 11," he said. "I remember I was dancing at the Lido de Paris, and we went to Madrid for a holiday, so that ended up pretty bad."
Craig said that when he returned to work in France afterwards, his injuries led to him being strip-searched over suspicions he was smuggling drugs. "I hadn't shaved, so I did look a bit of a wreck, I'd been stabbed, I had burn marks all around my neck from where I was, like, attacked," he said. "And then the French strip searched me down to literally nothing... they were looking for drugs."
Kenya hotel drama
Craig also described a separate holiday mishap in Kenya, where he arrived to find his hotel had burnt down. "I remember flying to Mombasa in Kenya. It was all fabulous, I thought, 'oh yeah, I'm going on safari, that's going to be nice,'" he said.
"Got out there, arrived, all the hotels and everything were paid for in advance, they're giving us a like a bus from the airport to the hotel, and they said on arrival, 'your hotel has burnt down,'" he said. "No one bothered to tell us until we actually arrived. Anyway, they found us another one, they just shoved us in there, and I went on, you know, a very romantic cruise down the River Nile."
Tribute to Ann Widdecombe
Craig's revelations came after he paid tribute to Ann Widdecombe following her murder at her home. He called her killing "undeniably cruel" as police continue to search for her killer.
The politician's body lay undiscovered for 24 hours last month after she was believed to have been attacked in her remote bungalow in Haytor, on Dartmoor, at around 12:30pm.
Ann became a fan favourite on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, reaching week ten with her professional dance partner Anton Du Beke.
In his tribute, Craig said he worked with Ann for several years on theatre tours and other projects after her time on the show. He wrote: "During that time, I came to know a woman who bore little resemblance to many of the assumptions I had once made about her."
"Despite the seemingly irreconcilable differences in our political views, I grew to admire and care for her enormously," he continued. "Ann was warm, wickedly funny, deeply intelligent, and a genuinely joyous presence to be around. Beneath the formidable public persona was a kind and generous spirit, and someone I am proud to have called a friend."
He added: "What happened to her is unimaginably cruel. No one deserves such a horrific end. Rest in peace, darling Ann. You will be greatly missed."
