Horwood: 'I told Alesha to toughen up'

Craig Revel Horwood has revealed that he adopted a 'tough love' approach to Alesha Dixon when she faced a backlash from Strictly Come Dancing fans.

Dixon's debut as a judge on the BBC One ballroom series was strongly criticised last month. A number of viewers complained that the popstar was a poor replacement for choreographer Arlene Phillips, who was axed in the summer.

Fellow panellist Horwood told the Daily Star Sunday: "Alesha has had a rough ride, but I told her the only way to deal with that was to toughen up.

"I told her that she just had to be herself and be much more opinionated than she had been before. She's got a great personality and she just needs to let that shine."

Horwood had previously described fans' hostility as "horrendous", arguing that it was wrong to expect Dixon to be "perfect right away".