Strictly fans blast judge for ‘out of order’ Paul Merson remark

Craig Revel Horwood has been blasted by Strictly Come Dancing viewers for making an “insensitive” comment about drinking to contestant Paul Merson, who is a recovering alcoholic.

The 56-year-old former England/Arsenal footballer, who is currently competing in the dancing competition alongside his partner Karen Hauer, danced a Salsa to Pitbull’s “Fireball”.

At the beginning of the routine, Merson was cooking at a BBQ with a prop drink in his hand, before he got rid of the glass and began the choreography.

Merson received some of the worst scores of the night, with the judges awarding a total of 15 points out of 40 to the couple.

Revel Horwood said Merson’s feet were “glued to the floor” and that his partner Hauer simply “danced around” him.

He then said: “Obviously the drinks at the BBQ gave you the confidence to do that.”

Merson then looked at his feet and mumbled: “I don’t drink.” Host Tess Daly looked unimpressed as she shook her head in Revel Horwood’s direction.

Viewers were quick to brand the feedback as “nasty” as they noted that Merson is a recovering alcoholic, having been open about his experiences with drug and alcohol addiction in the past.

Writing on X/Twitter, one fan said: “He probably wasn’t aware, but Craig making alcohol-related jokes to an alcoholic wasn’t the best.”

Another person remarked the comment was “bad taste” as another said it was “out of order”.

One fan wrote: “Craig needs to do his homework & research on the contestants. Unnecessary remark to Paul Merson.”

“That’s a nasty comment from Craig! As Paul is a recovering addict I doubt he’d be having a drink at a BBQ.”

The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.

Speaking to The Independent and other media ahead of his Strictly debut last month, Merson remarked that being “clean” has allowed him to embrace new experiences like Strictly.

Asked about what he wants to take away from his experience on the show, he said: “Being a recovering alcoholic and everything, I just to give people back people watching this show at home that have got addictions that you can go and do something because addiction takes you away from everything. That’s all it ever does. It wants you on your own.”

“Now, I’m going in front of millions of people doing something that I’m not very good at. That’s my thing. Because I used to think I can’t do things like that now I’ve got the opportunity because I’m clean.”