Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood blasts woke pantomimes for scrapping Sleeping Beauty being kissed

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed the nation's beloved pantomimes have been hit by a woke overhaul, with bosses scrapping the iconic kiss from Sleeping Beauty for being 'non-consensual'.

The dancer is set to play the villain Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty at the Bristol Hippodrome in December, but has admitted he's found some of the changes to the show 'weird'.

Craig, 61, shared that in his production the traditional ending has been changed, and characters that were previously known as 'ugly' have been given a rebrand.

He said that while he has questioned some of the moves, he largely feels changes to the classic pantomimes to reflect modern audiences have been a success.

Craig explained that context has been added to his production of Sleeping Beauty, so that audiences will see the Prince and Princess Aurora fall in love earlier in the show so that their kiss will appear consensual.

He said: 'The love of her life comes in and kisses her – but the problem is, in the story, there's no consent. It's a non-consensual kiss nowadays.

'So how are you going to tell the story where he comes and wakes her up after 100 years by kissing her if she can't consent because she's asleep?'

Craig also revealed that the show is set to feature his 'ugly' daughters but they will no longer be referred to in a negative manner.

As reported by The Telegraph, he added: 'I have two accomplices, my ugly daughters. But they're not allowed to be called ugly anymore because no one is ugly. 

'And you can't fat-shame anyone either. So, now they're called the sisters. Yeah, it's a bit weird, isn't it?'

Craig added that some traditional panto plots are impossible to adapt for modern audiences, despite attempts to do so, with Snow White's title changed to remove '...and the seven dwarves'.

Woke theatres have previously faced backlash for attempting to change shows, with one theatre pulling a song about vegans from their pantomime over bullying fears.

In 2024, The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, also issued a trigger warning that some of the jokes in their Aladdin pantomime might offend people and audiences are being pre-warned that the panto might be loud too.

It is now offering a 'relaxed' panto for those likely to be offended.

The content warning on the theatre's website states: 'Panto is a lot of fun but sometimes it can be a little bit loud and a little bit cheeky with some jokes that only grown-ups will understand.

'Please bear this in mind if you are bringing anyone under the age of 5 or anyone with a nervous or more sensitive disposition.'

The same theatre was pulled into a vegan storm of their own making.

The theatre pulled a song from Mother Goose after several audience members complained that the lyrics about vegans would lead to bullying.

The song apparently said that the 'G in vegan stands for gassy, while the A stands for either anaemic or annoying.

The theatre said: 'Our pantomime Mother Goose is a live production which is constantly being refined and improved.

'The creative team behind this year's production continuously evaluates all aspects of the performance in order to create the best, most entertaining experience for the audience possible.

'Pantomime is a uniquely collaborative art form where the audience is very much a part of the show and we respect all of our audiences' views and comments.

'The relationship between our amazingly talented cast and the audience is what makes pantomime special and makes each and every performance a singular live event.'

An Aladdin pantomime with an all-white cast and featuring the lyric 'come on down to our oriental town' was condemned as racist.