Strictly Come Dancing star Layton Williams has been hit with backlash from viewers ever since he was announced as a contestant due to his background in shows such as Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Thriller Live and Billy Elliot The Musical.
The 29-year-old star’s first job was aged 12 playing the title role of Billy Elliot in the stage musical adaption of the hit move and his training was documented on The Paul O’Grady Show on ITV1 which he appeared on back in 2007 as well as several morning TV shows, TV interviews, and short clips related to the production.
In 2009, Layton as well as Sterling Williams and Kieron Alleyne all shared the role of young Michael in Thriller Live, which features songs by the King of Pop and Jackson 5. During their time portraying Michael in his teens, They performed hits including Beat It, Billie Jean and the title track, Thriller, in the show which is described as a celebration of his career.
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Opening up about landing the role at the time, Layton said: “I think he’s just so good at what he does. He’s really amazing. It will be quite hard to try to be him so I’ll try to put a bit of myself into it I feel really excited but a bit nervous.” His other stage roles include playing Angel in the 20th anniversary tour of Rent, touring with Matthew Bourne’s show The Car Man and performing the part of Duane in Hairspray the Musical 2015–2016 tour.
(Image: BBC/Ray Burmiston)
He is best known for playing Jamie New in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie up and down the country from 2019 until 2022. He also also narrated BBC Three dating show I Kissed a Boy earlier this year. It was later confirmed that he’d been asked to join the cast of Strictly 2023 and he’s since made the semi-final alongside Ellie Leach, Annabel Croft and Bobby Brazier.
Layton and his professional dancer part Nikita Kuzmin were the first, and currently the only, couple to be awarded full marks from the judges. The dynamic wowed judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke with their performance of Backstage Romance from Moulin Rouge! The Musical – and the pair received the highest possible score of 40 for their efforts.
(Image: Tony Larkin/REX/Shutterstock)
Choreographer Craig had been hesitant to give out scores of 10 but he fave Layton and Nikita top marks with his three fellow judges following suit, leading to a rapturous response from the studio audience Presenter Tess Daly told Craig “‘On behalf of a nation, Craig, thank you for finally getting your ‘10’ back out. We love you for that.”
(Image: BBC)
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It comes after claims that Layton has an unfair advantage due to his prior musical theatre experience. He has recently has responded to the complaints about his prior dancing background in an interview for The Guardian, saying that rehearsals are not as easy for him as it might seem.
“I’ve taken it on the chin, I get what everyone’s saying,” he said of the criticism. “But if you could be a fly on the wall in this rehearsal room, it’s not easy for me.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday, December 9 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
