You’re a panto regular – what do you enjoy most about it? I love live theatre – it’s where I started my career back home in Australia and I got into it as soon as I arrived in the UK. As much as I love my screen career, you simply can’t beat helping an audience to suspend their disbelief for a few hours and enjoy a shared experience live and in real time. While we all take it seriously and it’s hard work, panto is fun, festive and lets me show audiences what I can do when I’m not sitting behind my Strictly desk. Panto has never fully been exported to Australia. When did you first see one? The first ever pantomime I was in! Our producers, Qdos Entertainment, once called offering me the job of directing one of their productions, but due to filming commitments I couldn’t make it work. They called back five minutes later and asked me if I wanted to be in the panto instead and I jumped at the chance. It was a baptism of fire – wearing a dress, ridiculously high heels and getting booed twice a day. But I loved it, and I still do. What do you want for Christmas? December is very busy, not only with Strictly, but with plans for my own projects, including all the planning for the musical Strictly Ballroom, which I’m directing next year, filming for It Takes Two and performing Robin Hood twice a day. Christmas Day is literally a day of rest and a well-deserved glass of Sauvignon with my partner Jonathan, which is all I want for Christmas. I have two shows on Christmas Eve and am straight back for two more on Boxing Day. Having done pantomime every year for almost a decade the only tradition is that I get to put my feet up. Which contestant has surprised you most on Strictly? I think we’ve had a great mix of contestants this year, not to mention a very committed and flexible group given the limitations we’ve had to place on filming. Bill Bailey has really surprised me though. He has a great musicality that I didn’t quite expect. Do you think same-sex couples should have been introduced earlier on Strictly? Strictly has always been at the forefront in representation, and I was thrilled when Katya and Nicola were confirmed as a professional couple this year. I’ve always appreciated when we’ve been able to push the boundaries and be representational, whether it’s Katya and Nicola as a professional pairing, same-sex professional dances, or last week’s drag-inspired opening number. Dance is for everyone and it should evolve to reflect the world we live in, and I’m proud Strictly reflects that. Like Anton Du Beke, you’re now a novelist. What is your debut about and how did you find writing it? I’ve written three autobiographies where I explored my own life and career to date, but writing Dances and Dreams on Diamond Street was a brand new experience. As any writer will tell you, it takes a lot of discipline and commitment to keep writing and keep momentum on a world of your own creation, but I loved it, I’m very proud of it. My novel is about a dancer-turned-choreographer in London in the 90s, very much based on my life at the time, and all the excess and excitement it brought. Strictly Ballroom is one of several stage productions delayed by Covid - how are preparations going? We’re busily reorganising and planning for its tour which now starts in October next year. Its several months away but I’ve been attached to the project for some time now and I’ve been able to reimagine the original West End production. We’ve added some new songs, we’re restructuring the story a little bit, we’ve got Kevin Clifton joining us as Scott. It’s going to be a lot of fun. What is your biggest fear for the arts in the wake of Covid? It’s very simple. My biggest fear, which is shared by the theatre community, is that the cultural lifeblood is being forgotten about and may not recover. Jobs have been lost in an art form that people have dedicated their lives to and worked so hard for, amazing venues have stood empty with no footfall, creativity has been stunted, the list goes on. It’s had a devastating effect on the arts, and it is going to take even longer for it to recover without the right guidance and support. My daughter wants to know if you consider yourself the Strictly baddie ... I’m a baddie in pantomime, but on Strictly I like to think I’m just honest. I take technicality and performance very seriously. It’s my job, so I like to give clear and open feedback. It’s only ever given so our celebrity dancers learn to improve each week. • Craig Revel Horwood is in Robin Hood at the New Victoria theatre, Woking, 18 December–10 January and the Alexandra, Birmingham, 15 -31 January.