Legendary Strictly Come Dancing star announces major career move

0The move was announced on Tuesday. (Image: Getty)The announcement dropped on Tuesday.Strictly Come Dancing's longest-serving judge is set to return to the stage in a beloved musical next year. Craig Revel Horwood, who has been on the ballroom dancing competition show since 2004, will star in a UK and Ireland tour of Sister Act, the beloved musical based on the 1992 film of the same name directed by Emile Ardolino. Revel Horwood, 61, previously directed and choreographed the UK tour of Sister Act 2015 and this time will take to the stage as Mother Superior – a role made famous by the late Dame Maggie Smith in the classic film, in a new stage production.

The show follows lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier who is forced to go into hiding lay low as a nun in a convent after witnessing a crime. But her cover is put at risk as she begins to transform the struggling choir there. Revel Horwood will be joined by comedian Paul Chuckle, 79, who will portray Monsignor O'Hara.

Meanwhile, Pop Idol singer and West End star Zoe Birkett will play Deloris, a role portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg in the film. The tour will run from September next year until March 2028, opening in London before moving to Sunderland, Sheffield, Dublin, Manchester and Birmingham.

Dates are also scheduled in Cardiff, Nottingham, Brighton, Belfast and Derry. The original West End production of Sister Act opened at the London Palladium the summer of 2009, with Patina Miller in the lead role.

Productions have since been staged all over the world, including on Broadway. Revel Horwood's previous theatre credits as an actor include Munkustrap in Cats, Dance Captain in Miss Saigon and Miss Hannigan in Annie.

He was also one of the original cast members of Crazy For You.

The dancer has also received Olivier Award nominations for his choreography on musicals Spend, Spend, Spend, and My One And Only.

He is also an author, with debut novel Dances And Dreams On Diamond Street published in 2020.