Strictly backlash against Layton... because ‘he’s as good as the pros’
STRICTLY stars are becoming increasingly furious at having to compete against professional West End star Layton Williams, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The trained dancer has scored 39 out of 40 from judges in the past two weeks and seems destined to win the series. Yet he has been performing on stage since he was 12, when he played the title role in the West End musical Billy Elliot.
A Strictly insider has told of the anger and upset that Williams is so vastly more experienced than other contestants, saying he’s at least at the same level as his professional partner, Nikita Kuzmin, which ‘goes against the spirit of the show’.
The source said: ‘Of course there have always been dancers of different standards on Strictly, that’s part of the show’s greatness.
‘But this is ridiculous, he is as good or even better than his professional partner. There is such an uneven playing field here that it is impossible for any of the other contestants to have a chance of winning, even if the viewers do enjoy watching a celebrity’s journey.
‘While there might not be a rule that professional dancers can’t take part, it absolutely goes against the spirit of the show. Look at someone like Krishnan Guru-Murthy, he has built up a huge fan base and is wonderful to watch, and Angela Rippon. But they are blown out of the water each week by someone who is a professional dancer.’
Williams’ appearance on Strictly comes five years after pop star Ashley Roberts was lambasted by Strictly fans for having an unfair advantage, because she had studied dance in her youth.
The Pussycat Dolls singer repeatedly found herself in the bottom two because viewers took against her. The backlash, which repeatedly reduced her to tears, was so ferocious that even host Tess Daly appealed to those voting to ‘cut her a little slack’.
Williams, who on last night’s Halloween show danced the tango to Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo, has wowed the judges since he arrived on Strictly. Last week he was awarded 10s by Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke and a 9 from Craig Revel Horwood.
The 29-year-old’s musical theatre credits include Hairspray!, Rent, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and playing the young Michael Jackson in Thriller Live! – although he lost that job when his voice broke.
He beat more than 4,000 other hopefuls to get his big-break role in Billy Elliot, where he danced intricate ballet routines every night.
He previously trained at the Carol Godby Theatre Workshop in his native Bury and won a scholarship to the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
Speaking of the criticism of his ‘unfair advantage’, Williams said: ‘I’ve taken it on the chin, I get what everyone’s saying. But if you could be a fly on the wall in this rehearsal room, it’s not easy for me.’
Last night, wearing a floor-length dress, he was given 36 out of 40. He was hailed by head judge Shirley Ballas as ‘an exceptional dancer’ while Anton Du Beke said he was ‘almost at perfection’.
A Strictly spokeswoman declined to comment, but an insider said Williams ‘is not the first person with dance experience’ to have appeared on the show [others include Kimberley Walsh, Maisie Smith and Abbey Clancy] and that he ‘has never been trained in Latin and ballroom’.