Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood has been sharing his first impressions of Aberdeen, including his favourite spot for food.
The judge and theatre performer is touring around the UK with The Wizard of Oz production, in Aberdeen from July 9-13.
Horwood, used to boos on Strictly, has taken on the role of The Wicked Witch, alongside, Allan Stewart as the Wizard of Oz.
Having already performed the opening night, the duo said they were warmly welcomed by the Aberdeen audience, who gave them a standing ovation at His Majesty’s Theatre.
Craig said: “I thought the opening night went very well, there weren’t any disasters darling and I thought it was fab-u-lous.
“I think the Scottish audiences are the rowdiest and the nosiest and I noticed that of the Strictly tour and again on this tour.”
The cast is working hard during the show’s run in Aberdeen, but Craig had some time before rehearsals began, spending it down at Aberdeen beach.
“We are now in Aberdeen, and I am loving it, I’ve been to Aberdeen Beach, for a beautiful walk,” said Craig.
He also shouted at The Silver Darling in Footdee, saying it was “absolutely gorgeous” and thanked the staff for looking after him during his visit.
Having been to Aberdeen before, the Strictly star said the city is “very grey” but the famous granite does sparkle in the sunlight.
Allan said the cast would have some time off later in the week and may use it to visit some of the colourful Nuart murals, while Craig said he would like to do some shopping.
The Silver Darling is ‘absolutely gorgeous’
Allan was fortunate enough to have friends in the city come to see the show who “loved it”, however, the cast hasn’t been out much in Aberdeen due to their busy rehearsal schedule.
Craig joked that while the show follows the original, he does like to put his own stamp on his performance and will sometimes sing Over the Rainbow, despite it not being written for him.
“I’ve always wanted to sing it. It’s a childhood dream so I slip a little bit of it in on occasion,” he said.
Allan praised His Majesty’s Theatre for its “cosy” atmosphere with the seating close to the stage, while Craig said the downstairs rehearsal rooms were “fantastic”.
The pair spoke about their potential plans once they get some time off.
Craig said: “We have the Friday daytime free to recover, sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, go off on a beautiful walk around the sunshiny Granite City and then maybe head down to Aberdeen beach with our factor 50.”
Allan joked that they might need warm jackets instead.
Craig also shared that when he first arrived by train, he was picked up by a taxi driver who had previously driven him to Billy Connolly’s castle around 11 years ago.
Speaking about their favourite parts of the show Allan and Craig said it had to be the ‘Off to See the Wizard’ musical number and Dorothy meeting the characters.
You can read our review of the performance here.
Conversation