STRICTLY Come Dancing fans have been left stunned as the meanest judge on the panel was softened in the Strictly final, and moved to almost tears.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood is known for his harsh critic and even harsher marking, yet the Strictly Come Dancing finale appeared to move him to almost crying live on air.
As he gave his feedback to comedian Chris McCausland and pro dancer Dianne Buswell, the notoriously strict judge and choreographer was visibly emotional.
Giving his feedback on the couple’s final dance to You’ll Never Walk Alone, Craig revealed he’s had his “eyes opened” after visiting the studio to see McCausland and Buswell practice.
He said: “My eyes were made wide open when i came to join you in the studio, and I loved every second of it.”
He then took things a step further as he read out a Christmas card to the comedian, describing him as a “light that shines for all to see”.
He read out his Christmas card, filled with some jokes before later coming out from his seat to come and hug the couple.
Viewers at home were left surprised by Craig’s actions, as he’s typically more stern faced and hard to please.
Writing on social media, one viewer wrote: “Ugly crying at Chris and Dianne. What an amazing, inspiring partnership this has been. The room and the reaction to their final dance says it all. Craig’s poem was beautiful also.”
Another shared: “Chris‘ last dance. I am sobbing. Dianne was crying before it even started! Craig‘s poem just topped it off.
“I’m so happy that the stingiest judge on earth, knows it’s not just about the scores.”
“I never thought Craig would show his soft side on Strictly. Chris certainly brought it out of him tonight,” said a third.
A fourth added: “That poem was possibly the nicest thing I’ve ever seen Craig do on Strictly. No matter his scores for Chris, that is the kindest moment I’ve ever seen.”
The judge’s comments come as Chris and Dianne were also left in tears after their final performance of the night.
Reflecting on their Strictly journey, Chris said: “I shed a tear during the Viennese Waltz last week and I haven’t been able to turn the tap off this week.
“It’s not taken a lot to get me going. It’s just so overwhelming being in the final. Just the messages I’ve had.
“I’m just really proud of what we’ve been able to do. If I could have picked any [of the judges] to be with me, it would have been Craig.
“He’s been my toughest critic and so there’s more to learn from him.”
Dianne then added: “There’s so much more that is possible. Even I at the beginning thought I didn’t know how we could do this. And he said, Di I can do so much more than you think.
“Everyone that may have a disability or an obstacle, you can do so much more than you believe.”
Chris, as the show’s first ever blind contestant, was also crowned the winner of this year’s series with the pair shocked and surprised to be lifting the Glitterball Trophy.
TRAIN passengers have faced delays nearly 15,000 times in the past five years due to issues with junction points.
Network Rail figures show trains are thrown into chaos over faulty points more than 50 times a week.
One failure alone between Reading and Newbury in Berkshire last January affected 669 separate train services.
Points on junctions allow trains to move from one set of tracks on to another.
Any fault means a train gets stranded on a certain route, unable to change tracks — causing blockages to any locomotives behind.
The points are electrically controlled, and often seize up because of power connection issues.
Last year’s figures show there were 3,175 disruptions as a result of points issues, the highest in the past five years.
They affected almost 56,000 services — 5,360 of which had to be cancelled — and led to 10,396 hours of delays.
As taxpayer-funded Network Rail is responsible for upkeep of tracks and stations, it has been paying out huge sums to rail operators in compensation.
The bill for past year is an estimated £69million — most of which covered customer refunds.
Network Rail said: “In April, we announced our £45.4billion rail improvement plan to meet the needs of the railway.”
It also noted that less than one per cent of services had been affected by points failures.
The Government plans to scrap Network Rail and create a new Great British Railways body that will also handle a re-nationalisation plan.
A blockbuster night of boxing is on RIGHT NOW with stacked cards in Liverpool and Monte Carlo!
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While Cheavon Clarke goes for the vacant European cruiserweight title against Leonardo Mosquea in DAZN‘s show in Monte Carlo.
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BAKE Off star Rahul Mandal has become a dad for the first time – and says it is better than winning the show.
The 37-year-old, who won the show in 2018, shared his happy news today with an announcement in The Times before posting pictures online.
In a touching post, Rahul told his followers: “There is something we want to share. You might have read it in today’s @thetimes.
“If there is anything that can ever top the experience of holding @britishbakeoff trophy, this is it.
“Everyone, let me introduce you to our daughter, Debeshi Mandal, born on 10th December 2024.”
He continued: “We are back from the hospital today. Please send your blessings to Debeshi.
“Now, to the reality of looking after a baby, that neither of us have much experience of. But we will keep trying to do our best, as we did during the pregnancy.”
Rahul went on to describe the difficulties the couple have faced, explaining: “Thousands of miles away from our family the past 9 months was a journey that brought us closer and made us stronger as a couple. Hopefully, we will be good parents, so please, any advice, suggestions, and support is welcome.
“We also had to do tonnes of laundry to sort out. Our washing machine decided to take a break and enjoy our parenthood with us. Hopefully, it will be sorted soon.
“Just wanted to thank the maternity team in Rotherham Hospital and the amazing team in Greenoaks for supporting us during this amazing journey.”
During this time on the baking show, Rahul overcame two disasters to be crowned the unlikely winner
He was distraught when his icing bag exploded during the first doughnut challenge.
And he suffered an even worse catastrophe during the final showstopper task, to create an Edible Landscape, when his mixing bowl smashed, forcing him to start again.
But judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, were impressed with Rahul’s efforts and he beat his rivals Ruby Bhogal, and Kim-Joy Hewlett, to the title.
The scientist was born and raised in Kolkata, India, before his big move to the UK at 23, when he won a scholarship.
Since the show Rahul has continued his day job and works as an engineering researcher at the University of Sheffield’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.
He has however written his own cookbook – Showstopping Cakes: Mastering the Art and Science of Baking – writes for The Times and also makes regular TV appearances.
