Layton Williams in Strictly

[Char65]

I am a big fan of Strictly but I have lost interest in it this year because of Layton Williams as he is a professional dance. His CV reads

2007–2008: Billy Elliot the Musical
2008–2009: Beautiful People
2016: Hairspray the Musical UK Tour - playing Duane
2016-2017: Rent UK Tour - playing Angel
2017-2018: Hairspray the Musical UK Tour - playing Seaweed J. Stubbs
2018-2019: Kiss Me Kate - playing Bill Calhoun/Luciento
2019-2022: Everyone's Talking About Jamie - playing Jamie New

He was also in a Michael Jackson show - and I believe Jackson could dance a bit!

To me its no fair to pitch a pro against amateurs though I accept a lot of actors have also done dance at stage school but not appeared in the West End like this guy! What do others think?

I agree @icelollycraving . The hatred against him is unfair and seems very personal. I loved him in Beautiful People so was pleased to see he was in it but expected him to be a bit annoying but I’ve found him to be quite sweet.

I’m not a fan of him - I find him too cocky.

my issue is with the producers. They saw how the public reacted to Ashley Roberts who was also a pro dancer, and they KNEW that Layton would get the same reaction.

I think people comparing his level of dance experience to other people like Nigel are deliberately being obtuse. If Layton had come in as a new pro dancer everyone would be saying “yeah, he’s got the pedigree for it” whereas if they said Nigel (for example) was being a new pro dancer people would rightly say wtf. And that’s the issue for me.

I quite like his performances with Nikita but in my head they aren’t in the competition, they are just randomly doing a pro dance in the middle of the show.

also most people do strictly for the profile boost with many of them going into the west end - Layton is already getting the starring roles in the west end.

And quite frankly whatever he does I personally think he could do and had the capabilities of before the show - for me, I like the journey contestant.

but what really fucking pisses me off is the constant claims that his experience isn’t an advantage. Admit your privilege here mate!

Layton is fun to watch unlike Ellie who I find completely unengaging and usually don't bother watching. Clearly I'm on my own about Ellie though as she tops the leader board and is widely tipped to win it.

None of these are controversial claims. Caroline did a three year full time Danone course at Bodyworks (not sure if it counts as an actual degree, but essentially the same) Denise van Outen had been in Chicago and Ashley Roberts was a Pussycat Doll at the time when they were transitioning from dance troupe to girl group. Jay McGuiness also did a dance-focussed degree.

IMO Layton (and Ashley) are a step too far in that he's worked primarily as a dancer, including teaching dance, and is still at his physical peak unless Debbie McGee. But he's doing great routines, Nikita seems lovely, and he won't win so it's no big deal.

I do think some of the other contestants aren't getting the same level of scrutiny

Nigel has a fairly similar back ground degree wise, his own bio says he also was cast simply as a dancer in the original stage show of mamma Mia then given a named character, he's been in guys and dolls in a dance heavy role, danced on cruise ships and even won an olivier for a role that included dancing on his knees. I saw him in some west end shows in which he was most definitely dancing the majority

Angela Rippon was chosen as a guest judge for dancing on ice because of her experience, she has also competed in that and one off strictly before

Angela s trained and competed internationally in another form of dance.

I don't think West end dance is at all comparable though...
I've seen les Dennis in many musicals. He's been in 42nd street this year, he's been in everything from legally blonde to hms pinafore. I've also seen him in hair spray, and the Adams family!

I'd never heard of or seen Ellie until Strictly and she's been my favourite since week one. She seems happy, keen to learn and well adjusted. And I like Vito.

Krishnan is my second favourite

I agree with your last sentance @icelollycraving

I enjoy watching Layton and Nikita, his dancing is amazing (although I said when watching that Craig would comment his feet turned in) but of course he has an advantage over some of the others.
But there's always been ringers in it, and there's always a variety of abilities (part of which might be due to who agrees and is available to be on the show) It's exciting to see people improve but it's also good to see some incredible dancing.

I did see a Guardian article on Layton though, and he said it wasn't easy and the headline talked about "the myth of his unfair advantage" ....but nothing in it explained how it was, in any way a myth. Any of them with dance training will have an advantage over someone with none, and he has an awful lot of dance experience both from stage school and performing in the West End.

My main complaints from this series are that almost everyone seems to be able to do the splits or lift their leg over their head - and that makes me feel unbelievably inflexible!! 🤣🤣

And the constant overmarking of the "cooples choice" dances. I think most of them seem pretty meh. A few of them this year have done contemporary/Street dance style ones where you can see the professional is "bouncy" with lots of energy and the star is nowhere near matching them and looks a bit flat-footed. Last year Molly and Carlos did a dance to Grange Hill music she definitely had all the energy but it just seemed a bit basic and underwhelming imo.

And I actually forgotten that I disliked Ashley Robert for ringerness as well. I also had an irrational dislike for Peter Andre on strictly and he’s lovely in person (I’ve met him several times).

I actually think if Angela R was 20 years younger she’d be getting equally scathing comments as Layton tbh.

It does irritate me as he is obviously a dancer. And then recently I found out that Angela has toured with an Irish dance company. It was interesting this week that Craig commented that her her legs were fine, but the top half of her body was all over the place. I guess in Irish dancing a lot of it is just based on the legs moving with the arms and body still and straight?

However, I am getting slightly less irritated now, because I am finding some of the other dancers, very unmemorable. I don’t know if it is my memory playing tricks with me, but I’m sure the standard at this stage of the competition has been higher in previous series? For that reason, it is actually quite nice to watch some good dances as I’m getting bored of the rubbish ones who don’t seem to be improving or fulfilling their initial potential. Too many 6s and 7s at this stage still I think.

I can’t warm to Angela R for some reason. And I just want to give Bobby a hug as he reminds me of my son!

To be honest it bothers me more that there's one dancer who makes consistent mistakes and is frequently scored far higher than dancers with more content and smoother performances.

They used to be stricter with the couple’s choice dance where they had to choose between contemporary and musical or street dance I think. These days it just feels like a mishmash of whatever they want.

My fave was Karen and Charles Venn doing street dance a few years back.

From what I’ve read / seen on the Strictly Spoiler page, Leyton actually has very little public support and due to the nature of how the scoring system works, he’s only getting through because he’s near the top of the leaders board every week.

At the end of the day, although we all know he’s not going to win, it’s still hard to see other people who are trying really hard be kicked off the show whilst the professional dancer sails through.

You aren’t alone there - I can’t take to Ellie either. I think she’s a bit bland and if it wasn’t for being partnered with the lovely Vito I don’t think she’d be particularly memorable.

When Vito called Claudia “Tess” on the results show yesterday, I couldn’t stop laughing. He’s hilarious……his topic of conversation is impossible to follow because of how excited he gets and I find him really endearing.

I also liked that, or the weeks they had to do either ballroom or Latin now it's any old nonsense I preferred the structure.

To be honest I’m surprised he hasn’t yet been in the bottom two - Ashley roberts was ALL THE TIME!

but the biggest issue was when Shirley admitted he hadn’t mastered basic steps but still gave him a 9.

For me the best couples choice was Giovanni and Faye Tozer with the jazz one

plus rose and Giovanni of course. That dance was absolutely iconic

@Fergie51 I still re-watch that samba every so often and it's just wonderful. I wasn't surprised when they said Oti choreographed that pro dance last night!

@Princessfluffy you are not alone. I’m mesmerised by Layton’s dances. Ellie’s leave me a bit cold. Also adore watching Krishnan, although his skill level is a lot lower.
The joy both Layton and Krishnan have when dancing is a delight. I don’t get that same sense of joy from the other contestants.

also most people do strictly for the profile boost with many of them going into the west end - Layton is already getting the starring roles in the west end.

Strictly allows him to show off his dance talents and versatility in front of an audience of thousands (millions?) each week though. I don't know how it works in the West End or where he is in the pecking order but it could be, say, the step up from auditioning to being headhunted for a part.

I bet he knows he won't win and that the producers/bookers were upfront about how Ringers go on Strictly. They need a ringer or two each year to increase the general standard. He is a ringer above all other ringers though!

Ashley didn't hit the dance-off until
the week after Blackpool. In the pre-Blackpool weeks it's borderline impossible to be in the DO from the top 2 on the leaderboard even if you get zero votes.

And Layton isn't getting zero votes - all the online polls point to him getting more votes than anyone who's left so far. Possibly even Angela R and Krishnan as well.

It's a bit like saying most of us have played a musical instrument. There's a hell of a difference between having had some lessons at school and playing in a full orchestra immediately before entering a music competition.

Loads of past contestants have been in musicals but playing Billy Elliot the primary requirement is being able to dance.

I can't see Ellie for example has anywhere near that level of training as she was in Corrie from the age of about 12. I'm sure she did some dance classes but I don't know how you find the time to be in a national soap, go to school and have professional level dance training.

I like Layton and would absolutely love to see him on a west end stage. He's unreal. But I would like to see him do a full dance in the style it is meant to be rather than with his tricks (amazing as they are). Save them for couples choice.

Part of the problem with ringers is the process. The public like a journey and as the numbers reduce (giving more weight to public vote), it is highly likely he could end up putting out someone worthy of a final place. It is hard to imagine he wouldn't win a dance off so you could end up with a week where Nigel or Ellie get a less popular dance like Rhumba. The public assume they are safe and vote for the those more clearly in danger. Then the judges end up sending them home.

Just realised that that last post was unclear - I mean that Layton probably had more votes than anyone who's been eliminated so far.

i like Layton but comparing his West End experience to Les Dennis in Chicago or Legally Blonde is a bit daft - those 2 roles that Les did are almost entirely non dancing ones! they are barely even singing ones! i’ve only seen Nigel Harmen in Shrek in the West End and he played that role almost entirely on his knees. Mamma Mia is definitely a dance heavy show if he started off in the ensemble though.