Strictly Come Dancing wouldn’t be the same without judge Craig Revel Howood (Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
It’s fair to say wouldn’t be the same without .
The long-standing judge is known for his acerbic tongue and dry remarks which never fails to leave contestants shaking in their boots after each performance.
His fellow judge and co-star Anton Du Beke even admitted that he used to find ways to avoid being scolded by the judge by talking too much during the judge’s comments.
As well as being open with his opinions, the Australian hunk is also very candid when it comes to his life before he settled in to his judging role when the show launched in 2004.
As the TV star celebrates his 60th birthday with a bang, let’s take a look inside his health battle throughout his career.
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He first suffered with body dysmorphia as a teenager (Image: ITV)
One of the topics the star has been open about over the years is his battle with body dysmorphia and food management. Craig suffered with an eating disorder for more than 35 years and claims that his warped body image could have even killed him.
Writing for the Mail in 2008, Craig claimed he was a “short and fat” child who was often bullied about his weight in school. Despite the relentless bullying, it wasn’t until one horrifying incident during a P.E. lesson that changed his life forever.
When he was just 13, a teacher made him take off his top and run around the track, with his “flabby stomach jiggling as he bounced up and down.”
He was left out of breath and came close to tears, describing it as the “final insult, the humiliation that pushed him over the edge after years of torment.” He admitted that things weren’t great at home either, claiming he always felt isolated.
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The dancer lost weight when he found his passion for dance (Image: Getty Images)
Craig wrote: “As a youngster, food became my comfort blanket, my misplaced security, and I’d gorge myself on anything I could get my hands on, including the leftovers of the fat-laden dry-ups my father would make in a haze after a bender.”
In an interview with the Daily Record, he admitted: “When I was a kid I was very overweight, and one of my aunts used to call me ‘t*ts’ because I had these little boy-boobs.”
Although he hated exercise after his traumatic P.E incident, he soon fell in love with dancing when his friend took him to a class. While it allowed him to “torment his bullies” it also started what would become a lifelong struggle with anorexia.
He also suffers from body dysmorphic disorder – a mental health condition that causes the person to spend a huge amount of time worrying about a specific flaw in their appearance – normally something that is unnoticeable to anyone else.
The TV judge admitted he “would have come close to dying” if he didn’t change his ways (Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
He went on: “When I studied myself in the mirror every morning and night, anything that wasn’t muscle I saw as fat. I was terribly insecure about my body and having my supposed laws judged by others.
“I disgusted myself and I also felt guilty about my behaviour. I was never happy with what I saw but that is what body dysmorphia and eating disorders do to you. I was paranoid about everything that passed my lips and as I’d cut out protein, my energy was low.”
Craig went on to reveal that he lived off of lettuce for four years, but went on binge eating after shows which made him feel “disgusted” afterwards.
Speaking to the Record, he said: ““Anorexia is the best way to describe it. I always thought I was fat, but I was actually truly thin. When I look back, I was 6ft 2in and 11 stone, which is crazy between the ages of 18 and 22.”
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After years of starving himself, the physical effects started to show. Craig said his skin, immune system and moods completely changed when he was unwell. But things started to change in 1997, and he believes it is the year that saved his life.
He swapped from dancing to directing and choreographing, and believes he “would have come close to dying” if he didn’t. Back in 2008, he admitted that he still has concerns, especially since he quit smoking.
In his Record interview, he said: “I tend to overeat now, but it’s not so much of an obsession anymore. As a dancer, you’re constantly looking at your body in front of the mirror, and being critical. But I’m not dancing anymore.
“My body told me at 30 that it couldn’t do it after one injury too many. I had injuries like footballers get – problems with my hamstring, shoulders, knees, ankles.
“Eventually, I even had to cortisone injections in my shoulder. That’s when I went into choreography. It’s led me to where I am just now.”