Strictly Come Dancing 2022: Craig Revel Horwood ‘confirms Anton Du Beke’s return’ to judging panel
Posted by  badge Boss on Apr 03, 2022 - 04:46PM
Craig ‘confirmed that Anton will be back as a judge’ this year! (Picture: BBC)

’s will be returning to the judging panel, according to .

After the professional line-up was confirmed earlier in the week, for the 55-year-old dancer – who replaced during series 19.

And it looks like Craig, aka Mr Nasty, has put them all out of their misery and confirmed the long-serving pro will return to the podium once more after impressing viewers at home.

‘I think last year he did a great job on Strictly as a judge. And we have just found out he is going to do it again this year,’ he told

Metro.co.uk understands the judging line-up is yet to be decided.

Anton took over from, after he was forced to remain in the US due to the Covid pandemic and commitments to Dancing With The Stars.

After making his debut on the panel in series 19 – which saw actress  â€“ it was reported that producers were hoping Anton would be back critiquing a new batch of celebrities this autumn.

Anton made his judging debut in 2021 (Picture: PA)
Anton has been on Strictly since its launch in 2004 (Picture: BBC)

While Craig is thrilled over Anton’s return, he suggested last year that the TV show , without the need to dump Anton or Bruno.

Speaking to , he explained: ‘Bruno adds something Anton can’t and vice-versa, if you look at it that way, so I think they’ve both got different opinions which I think is perfectly good.

‘We could easily have five people on that panel. I think our time would be limited because there are only two minutes for the judges to talk but we would make it count.’

Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, , Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Giovanni Pernice, , Kai Widdrington, Luba Mushtuk, and Nancy Xu are among the stars competing later this year.

Newcomers Cameron Lombard and Jowita Przystal – who both made their debut in 2021 – will also have the chance to dance with a celebrity.

This comes after dancers and confirmed their departure from the series.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One later this year.