Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood thought he'd be 'killed' as he details horrific abuse liennhi
Craig Revel Horwood opened up about his harrowing ordeal(Image: ITV)
Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood admitted he "thought I'd be killed" as he detailed the horrific abuse he was subjected to as a child.
Appearing on Tuesday's (15th April) instalment of Loose Women, Craig sat down with the panel consisting of Ruth Langsford, Janet Street Porter, Denise Welch and Kelle Bryan.
Craig opened up about his childhood as he detailed the abuse he and his family endured at the hands of his father while growing up.
When asked if he was frightened, he replied: "I thought I'd be killed. It was real, proper abuse. It was horrible to come home to from school. It got worse when he left the navy, he was functioning alcoholic for a long time."
He explained that although his father was sober for four years, but it was "drinking that killed him". Craig continued: "It was so bad that he tried to shoot [my mother] and my brother-in-law. He went to prison but only for a short time because mum released the charges.
"My mother, bless her, did not know what to do. Everyone said, 'Why didn't you just leave him?' but it wasn't possible at that stage."
His father, Phil, died in 2015 and although Craig couldn't attend his funeral due to work commitments, he paid tribute by singing his favourite song My Way, by Frank Sinatra.
Craig appeared on Loose Women to share his experience(Image: ITV)
As one of five children, the Strictly judge recalled that it was the eldest three who suffered abuse, as he shared: "We couldn't bring people home from school - we were too scared" and that he kept his father's drinking a secret from everyone else.
Best known for his dancing skills and sharp wit, Craig appeared on Good Morning Britain and shared that dancing healed him, as he sets out on his latest tour - Revelations - Songs Boys Don't Sing.
He said: "My father was an alcoholic. I do talk about that in the show because that led me towards the dancing. And anyone at home I know that's watching this that has dealt with alcoholism, it's really, really tough, and we were abused as children, and my whole family was, and that was my only escape.
"And when I danced, it's when I really came to life. I forgot all of the abuse at home, and it made me want to do something else with my life.
"And on my father's death, I think that was when I actually realised that, after hating my father for so long, I then thought, actually he was a really good man he just had a terrible, terrible disease and it eventually killed him."
Strictly Come Dancing celebrated its 20th-anniversary last year that saw Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell life the Glitterball trophy.
The BBC have since confirmed that it will be returning this Autumn for another series, and teased that there will be two new professionals in the line-up.
