David James slams Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood’s criticism as ‘clichéd and not constructive’

Strictly Come Dancing contestant David James has hit back at the show’s judging panel, claiming that Craig Revel Horwood’s comments are “not constructive.”

The former England footballer and partner Nadiya Bychkova failed to impress the judges with his Paso Doble during last week’s show, receiving just 10 points.

Revel Horwood described the dance as “limp, lame and lacklustre,” and the couple’s score became the joint-lowest mark for a Paso Doble in the show’s history.

Speaking on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, James told host Rylan Clark-Neal: “These guys are and have been at the top of their field, and as a dancer you want, if someone’s going to criticise you, you want to know what the problem is.”

“The ladies, they came out and said about the passion and all that stuff. I didn’t even realise Shirley [Ballas] had said anything good because you just hear [the negatives].”

He went on to single out Craig Revel Horwood, describing his comments as “a bit clichéd and not constructive,” and suggested that Bruno Tonioli had not been specific enough with his criticism.

“If [he had referred to] a specific part of the move, then I would have gone, ‘Yeah fine.’

“That was a frustration for me, for us, that the criticism and the mark was not reflective in our opinion of the whole dance.”

James and Bychkova’s dance left them in the bottom two, but they managed to cling onto a place in the competition by beating former Olympian James Cracknell in the dance off.

They will attempt a Viennese Waltz to Seal’s Kiss From A Rose from the film Batman Forever on Saturday’s show, which is a Hollywood-themed special.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday, October 5 at 7.10pm on BBC One.