He’s long taken on the role of the lovable villain as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing. But Craig Revel Horwood has spoken about the real villain in his life – his late father Phil Horwood, who was a violent alcoholic who subjected the family to severe physical and mental abuse.Brought up in Ballarat, an Australian goldmining town, and one of five children, Craig, 61, said he did what was necessary to escape and that included trading sex aged 17, with a man aged 42, for dance lessons. Craig viewed the arrangement pragmatically and said: ‘ I used dance to escape abuse at home, that was my freedom. So I found my place in life and it certainly was not at home with my father.’ The judge told The Times 2 that he and his siblings were ‘little slaves’ and he is an ‘ultra-resilient’ survivor because of what he endured in the past, saying his dad ‘wasn’t a villain sober, he was a villain drunk.’ Craig describes himself as a plump child whose aunt nicknamed him ‘tits’. He was incredibly shy at school and didn’t tell anyone about his father’s drinking. Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood said he traded his body with an older man when he was aged 17 in exchange for dance lessons in order to help him ‘escape’ his abusive childhood home The judge told The Times 2 that he and his siblings were ‘little slaves’ and he is an ‘ultra-resilient’ survivor because of what he endured in the past, saying his dad ‘wasn’t a villain sober, he was a villain drunk.’ (pictured with his dad, mother Beverley and siblings)His mother Beverley, now aged 84, fought for him to be a dancer, despite her bearing the brunt of her husband’s behaviour. He said: ‘If I had my life over, I would say “Mum, leave Dad. Just leave him. You’ll be all right. In those days you just couldn’t. How would she survive. Five kids, by herself.’I wasn’t in a position [to say that]. None of us were. And she wasn’t in a position to leave. But you shouldn’t have to put up with it.’ She only got a divorce when Phil threatened to kill her and his brother-in-law David with a gun in 1989, with him going to prison briefly and her finally receiving some support – a story Craig talks about in his autobiography. He claims his eldest siblings were victims of their father’s abuse, but his youngest family members didn’t receive the same treatment and this caused some divide years on.Former Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant Phil died in 2015, aged 74, when Craig was performing in pantomime, with the toxicology showing massive amounts of alcohol in his body. He didn’t attend the funeral because that would have affected production, but he sent a video message of himself singing his father’s favourite song, My Way. These days, Craig is living the fairytale life he has always dreamed of. In April, he will fly to Australia to be a judge on Dancing With The Stars and side projects have included coaching and choreographing Hugh Grant for his tap dancing sequence in Paddington 2He’s engaged to be married to longterm love Jonathan Myring, a paramedic, but they have postponed their wedding. Craig said he is booked up with work until 2030 but he has a week off in 2028 when they could tie the knot. In April, he will fly to Australia to be a judge on Dancing With The Stars and side projects have included coaching and choreographing Hugh Grant for his tap dancing sequence in Paddington 2.