Watch this video to meet the 2019 cast of Dancing With The Stars!
The reboot of Dancing With The Stars Australia kicked off on Network Ten last night in a glittering bang with new hosts Grant Denyer and Amanda Keller at the helm.
But while Aussie reality fans rejoiced at the revival of the hit series, viewers were underwhelmed with one particular aspect of the show – namely, head judge Craig Revel Horwood.
The notoriously brutal Australian-British dance pro – who is best known for his judging role on all 16 seasons of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing – incurred the wrath of social media users for his “nasty” critique of contestants on the debut night of the competition.
Flanked by fellow judges Sharna Burgess and Tristan MacManus, Horwood received boos from the audience for his stinging commentary towards Cassandra Thorburn.
“It was all going well until you started to dance and there, quite frankly, was the failure,” he sniffed at the ex-wife of Karl Stefanovic.
The outspoken choreographer also told Michelle Bridges she had “two wooden legs” and remarked of Miguel Maestre it “looked as though you’d just come out of a double hip replacement”.
Twitter users slammed the West End star for his harsh words, with many calling for DWTS to remove him and others branding him “the meanest judge in Australia”.
Others were simply delighted the show had returned, with one user tweeting: “So happy Channel 10 brought [DWTS] back to our screens – such an awesome show, great hosts and judges even the grumpy one lol.”
A small number of viewers defended Horwood’s harsh remarks, declaring they “love the constructive criticism you give contestants”.
Another agreed, writing: “I’m living for the British judge.”
The new season of DWTS features a stellar line-up of stars from various backgrounds, including former Neighbours actress Olympia Valance, Biggest Loser host Michelle Bridges, children’s entertainer Jimmy Rees (aka Jimmy Giggle) and model Jett Kenny.
Singer Courtney Act made history by becoming the first drag artist to dance in the Australian contest.
