Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom.

[10] In his autobiography, Horwood reveals that at the age of 17, he made money by appearing as a drag queen in bars and clubs and that his relationship with an unnamed celebrity was akin to prostitution.

[15] He choreographed Hard Times – The Musical,[16] Calamity Jane,[17] Tommy Cooper – Jus' Like That[18] and the play Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, starring Claire Bloom and Billy Zane at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.

[24] He then starred as Miss Hannigan in the UK touring production of Annie[25] in 2015, 2019, 2023 and also the West End (in 2017) at the Piccadilly Theatre.

[32] In the summer of 2024, Horwood starred in the UK tour of the musical The Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West.

[33] Horwood directed the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester[34] and staged Once Upon a Time – The Life of Hans Christian Andersen, a live concert in Copenhagen to mark the author's bicentenary.

[46] In December 2021, he once again played the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton alongside Debbie McGee.

[51] He has a reputation for being the harshest of the judges and is often the recipient of jeering and booing from the studio audience;[52] he also received criticism for his apparent bias towards Emma Bunton in the fourth series of the competition.

[53] Horwood is known for stringently applying rules, as for example when marking down for an 'illegal lift' in some dances if the lady's foot leaves the floor.

Passing judgment on Kimberley Walsh in 2012, Horwood said the dance was 'indecent, improper, absolute filth', and added: 'I loved it.

[citation needed] He was also a judge on the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars for seasons 16 and 17, since its 2019 'revival', along with Sharna Burgess and Tristan MacManus.

In May and June 2007, Horwood appeared as a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef,[62] reaching the final alongside Nadia Sawalha and Midge Ure.

The series was partly filmed at London's Royal Opera House,[64] where Horwood, as eventual winner, conducted Act II of La Bohème in late 2012.

In June that same year, it was announced that Horwood would be seen joining fellow dancer, judge, presenter and choreographer Bruno Tonioli in Craig and Bruno's Great British Roadtrip; in the series of six half-hour episodes, made by RDF Television for ITV, the pair showcased routes and sights around Britain whilst indulging shared passions for fun, food, dance and classic cars.

[citation needed] Horwood choreographed the final scene in Paddington 2 (2017); and made his screen acting debut as Emmanuel Cavendish in Nativity Rocks!

[72] In October 2020, Horwood released his first novel with Michael O'Mara Books, entitled Dances and Dreams on Diamond Street; the paperback edition was published in June 2021.

He also learned further that his great-great-grandfather, Moses Horwood, who is revealed in the programme to have been a petty criminal from England, was convicted at the Gloucestershire assizes and transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1841.

Criminal records identified by TheGenealogist include a transportation document for Moses Horwood, showing he departed England on 1 December 1841 on board a ship called the John Brewer.

[81] In late 2021, Horwood moved to a seven-bedroom property dating back to 1867 in the Northamptonshire village of King's Cliffe.

Horwood and Myring plan to marry, in August 2025, at St Matthew's Church, Normanton, at Rutland Water.