I’m being really dull tonight, can you explain what the ringer means and why they do it? Do they want that person to win or just good to watch? Tried googling and I still don’t understand
A true ringer is someone who is secretly good there to hobble the rest but here we use it interchangeably as someone with experience, so unfair advantage. Some have managed to keep experience a bit more secret. Layton does it for a living so open secret. Without those with some experience, it would be a bit lame to watch. Layton has worked hard but had flair and moves from the start. He's done it for exposure, money, West End offers, for his Mum and because he was asked.
Someone said on Digital Spy he was asked when a big name dropped out. I don't know how true that is or who he replaced.