Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood lost ‘irreplaceable’ royal gift from Prince Andrew

Craig Revel Horwood, the esteemed judge on Strictly Come Dancing, once suffered a distressing loss when a set of Royal coffee mugs gifted by were stolen.

In his 2018 autobiography ‘In Strictest Confidence’, the dance legend recounted how a “down-and-out drug addict” swiped the mugs after a performance of Annie in London’s West End.

Craig, who turns 60 tomorrow, was with his sister Sue, visiting from Australia, when the theft occurred outside the theatre in Piccadilly.

He recalled: “Just after opening night we went to the pub next to the theatre in Piccadilly. While I was outside chatting on the phone, a down-and-out drug addict stole my backpack from right under Sue’s nose.”

Despite their frantic search around Piccadilly, the backpack remained lost.

It contained not only a substantial amount of cash but also the treasured Royal coffee mugs from . The incident left Craig heartbroken as he had intended to present the mugs to his mother.

The following day, as he prepared for his role as Miss Hannigan, he was interviewed by the police at the theatre, reports .

Craig shared a rather surreal experience with the police, recounting: “They must have thought it was one of those crazy days on the beat, because at the start of the interview I was Craig Revel Horwood and by the end of it I had completely transformed into Miss Hannigan,” in his writings.

Fortuitously, the following day saw the recovery of his stolen backpack at a McDonald’s, though the cash and the Royal mugsa present from the Duke of Yorkremained missing. Despite regarding the mugs as “irreplaceable”, Craig relayed that his PA, Clare, managed to contact Buckingham Palace and they were “nice enough to replace them”.

Craig boasts deep ties to the Royal Family, enjoying invitations to the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot in 2018, and engaging with Queen Camilla several times due to their mutual support for the National Osteoporosis Society.

Originating as a dancer in Melbourne and later relocating to London, Craig has been a staple judge on ‘s since the very beginning in 2004.

Apart from his dance legacy, he’s also noted for his stringent judging style on Strictly, often leaving the celebrity contestants striving hard for his approval. Yet, during an appearance on Kate Thornton’s White Wine podcast, he expressed that he is often “misunderstood”.

Elaborating on this, he remarked: “I get obviously misunderstood on a programme like . I think only because I have 10 seconds to say what’s wrong with the dance.

“And that’s tough, you know? So I have to be really quick. I’ve got to be to the point. You know, if I was coaching them, I could look on X Factor, you’d get coaching.

“So you’ve got an opportunity to make them better. But on Strictly, I’m just there, literally wearing a judge’s wig and holding paddles.”