Entertainment

Joe Sugg says he is happy to prove Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood wrong

The vlogger impressed the judges during the first round of the BBC dancing competition.
The vlogger impressed the judges during the first round of the BBC dancing competition. The vlogger impressed the judges during the first round of the BBC dancing competition.

Strictly Come Dancing star Joe Sugg has admitted he is happy to have proven judge Craig Revel Horwood wrong after he and partner Dianne Buswell produced a high-scoring first routine on the show.

The vlogger and Buswell performed the jive to Aha’s Take On Me during the opening round of the competition on Saturday.

They finished two points off the top of the leaderboard after being awarded a score of 27 by dance experts Revel Horwood, Dame Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and head judge Shirley Ballas.

Revel Horwood had revealed he expected Sugg to struggle on the BBC dancing programme after watching him dance with his fellow celebrity contestants during the show’s live launch.

Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood admitted he initially did not have high hopes for Joe Sugg on Strictly (Ian West/PA)

Speaking on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two, Sugg said: “On the group show I was tucked away in the corner.

“So I was surprised he actually did see me at all, as I’m not the tallest of people. It’s good to prove him wrong and get in his good book.”

Sugg and Buswell will next take on the Charleston which they will dance to 1990s pop song Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex.

Sugg revealed the song’s country and western style was a nod to his previous job making thatched roofs for cottages.

Last week’s joint leaders former Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev will dance the cha cha cha to Boogie Wonderland by Earth Wind and Fire this weekend.

Their closest competitors Steps’ Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice will do a Viennese waltz to Seal’s version of James Brown’s It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.

Professional dancer Karen Clifton also appeared on It Takes Two with her celebrity partner Holby City actor Charles Venn.

The pair’s cha cha cha routine drew criticism from Ballas for not featuring another of the dance style’s signature moves.

Clifton defended the routine she had devised saying: “It was her opinion, I thought it fit the choreography. I would have loved a little bit more constructive criticism from the head judge.”

She added that she respected Ballas’ opinion and promised her “a full, packed meal” of a dance on the weekend. The pair will perform a quickstep to Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke.