Craig Revel Horwood talks to Dr Foster Health about his campaign to combat Osteoporosis

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood and the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) have teamed up to combat Osteoporosis through a new, fun education campaign - Boogie For Your Bones.

Dance is invigorating, engaging and a great weight-bearing exercise, which has been proven to strengthen bones in childhood and prevent osteoporosis in later life ⁽¹⁾.

Dr Foster Health interviewed Craig Revel Horwood to find out more about the NOS campaign and his reasons for taking part.

Dr Foster Health: Craig, you are involved in a campaign run by the NOS to raise awareness of Osteoporosis in schools, called Boogie for Your Bones. What were your reasons for participating?

Craig Revel Horwood: My mother suffers from arthritis and I wanted to do something to help people with bone trouble and why not start in schools? Creating awareness among the young is crucial to the future prevention of Osteoporosis.

DFH: The President of NOS is the Duchess of Cornwall. Have you met her and what do you think about her own activism?

CRH: Yes, I'm delighted to say that I've met her several times and think she is doing fantastic work particularly creating global awareness about Osteoporosis.

DFH: In your autobiography All Balls and Glitter, you say that ballroom dancing is more physical than people realise. How can dance help prevent Osteoporosis?

CRH: Impact dance movements strengthen and encourage a bone bank for the future.

DFH: In the UK, one in two women and one in five men over the age of 50 will break a bone mainly because of poor bone health. Osteoporosis also costs the NHS £2.3bn a year. These statistics are pretty shocking and will no doubt surprise people. What are your main goals for the Boogie for Your Bones campaign?

CRH: To attack these figures it is crucial to build our bone strength from birth to age 25, so we want to get people dancing as young as possible and to make exercise fun!

DFH: Strictly Come Dancing is a TV phenomenon. How did you get involved?

CRH: I auditioned like everyone else and did a screen test. I guess my brutal honesty got me employed as the straight-talking judge.

DFH: If you could pick anyone from the past series of Strictly Come Dancing that you'd like to choreograph and direct, who would it be?

CRH: Alesha Dixon and Jill Halfpenny - both of whom have the all round disciplines needed for theatre work. They can sing, dance and act.

DFH: The Boogie for Your Bones campaign shows a totally different side to you. What do you think people will think of you fronting this campaign?

CRH: This shows my true side, all loving, all embracing and nurturing rather than my Strictly stern side!

DFH: What do the other judges think about your commitment to the Boogie for Your Bones campaign and will you rope them in on the campaign trail?

CRH: They think I'm doing a great job helping people to understand Osteoporosis, and yes I'll get them roped in if possible!

DFH: You are involved in a number of different projects at the moment. What else are you doing apart from Strictly and heading up the Boogie for Your Bones campaign?

CRH: I'm preparing a national tour for Sunset Boulevard which has just closed in the West End. I'm also rehearsing Spend Spend Spend and a national tour of Hot Mikado for the Watermill Theatre. I'll be playing the Wicked Queen in Snow White at Cymru Llandudno, Wales. In 2010, there'll be the Strictly National Tour, The Merry Widow and Dancing with the Stars in New Zealand.

DFH: Finally, can you still do the splits in full drag and heels?

CRH: Certainly not!!!

Look out for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing with new judges Alesha Dixon and Darcey Bussell coming autumn 2009 on BBC 1.