Strictly: Vito and Sarah receive feedback from Craig Revel Horwood
Piers Morgan shared his upset over reports that Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has dialled down his ‘catty’ critiques of celebrity dancers "because the absurdly overblown Giovanni Pernice scandal has made him worried about being branded a bully and being cancelled".
The broadcaster bemoaned having to now endure Craig's softer side that shows him being "insufferably kind to everyone and even gives perfect 10 scores".
Craig recently looked back on his past behaviour while working on Strictly and regretted some harsher remarks to contestants.
He said: "I was really harsh 20 years ago. When I look back, I think, ‘Ooh, that’s cutting.’ I do still say what’s wrong, but you can wrap the truth in a nice way.
"I’m thinking more like a teacher than a judge," he finished.
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However, Piers, always known for speaking his mind, shared his horror at Craig's newfound sensitivity on the BBC dance contest.
In his latest column for The Sun, he wrote: "No, no, no Craig!
"The reason viewers loved you as a judge is precisely because you gave it to them in a ruthlessly straight and entertaining way.
"You were right to say Jeremy Vine danced ‘like a stork that had been struck by lightning’, and that former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith ‘limped about like you were lost at a party somewhere, drunk’, and when you told Scott Mills ‘you are the exception to the rule that anyone can learn to dance.’"
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Following several scandals on and off-screen on Strictly as of late, the show has been working hard to recover its clean-cut image.
Giovanni Pernice, who worked as a professional dancer on the programme for many years, was accused of bullying behaviour by his dance partner Amanda Abbington.
Although a BBC internal investigation vindicated him, rumours about his demanding training methods surfaced from other past partners.
Strictly chiefs seem eager for Giovanni to remain central to an upcoming BBC special show due to broadcast on December 21.
A BBC source revealed: "Given his impact, particularly for the Bafta win – which was voted for by the public – it is only the obtuse who would think that Giovanni should not be included in the 20th-year reflections in some form.
"Giovanni has made an immense impact on Strictly and will absolutely not be erased from Strictly Come Dancing's history."
