CRAIG Revel Horwood has taken a swipe at his Strictly co-stars.
The Sun recently revealed popular Craig has been clashing with judge Motsi Mabuse, who admitted they're "not friends" outside of work.
Now Craig has fuelled speculation of tension backstage as he appeared on This Morning to promote his new musical Strictly Ballroom.
Asked by host Dermot O'Leary about how he mentors the cast in comparison to "nasty judge" persona on Strictly, Craig replied: "I tend to love, nurture and embrace, unlike my role on Strictly where I have to judge in one minute, 30 seconds.
"Of course with Strictly Come Dancing I don't get to choose the cast so I'm lumped with whoever I've got.
"Whereas I got to choose these guys for Strictly Ballroom and they're really talented.
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"For me it's about bringing out the character and upgrading talent choices really."
Craig cast former celeb competitor on Strictly Maisie Smith and ex-pro Kevin Clifton to star in the new musical.
It's based on a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film.
Craig has choreographed the musical performances as he looks ahead to new roles outside of Strictly Come Dancing.
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It follows claims Motsi and Craig have been locking horns behind the scenes.
Insiders claim Craig was "unhappy" about what Motsi wrote about her Strictly judges in her new book, Finding My Own Rhythm, which was released last month.
Motsi also made a pointed remark in her book when describing her so-called friendship with her Strictly co-stars.
Motsi - who was a judge on Let's Dance in her native Germany - wrote in her book: "In Germany, the panel on Let's Dance has been together without a change for ten years and we're extremely close - we're friends and we hang out together.
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"In the UK, everybody is very professional and we have a good working relationship."
A Strictly spokesman denied tensions between the pair, adding: "Motsi and Craig adore each other.”