Strictly’s Layton Williams’ first performance is overshadowed by ‘dance experience’ row – as Anton Du Beke addresses his West End history

Layton Williams’ previous dancing experience has been called into question after his first appearance on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night.

The West End star, 29, whose roles include Billy Elliot, dazzled as he entered the ballroom with his professional partner Nikita Kuzmin.

But despite putting on an incredible performance during their Samba to Little Mix’s Touch, which earned them an impressive 29 points, some fans weren’t sold on the performance.

Their dance sparked a new wave of claims that it is ‘unfair’ for Layton to be involved in the BBC1 show because of his dancing background.

The controversy was even raised by judge Anton De Beke, who defended the artist, who also starred in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.

After the routine, Anton said: ‘I know you already have dance experience, but that is very different from what we do here, especially when you tackle a dance like samba with an extremely difficult technique.

‘What you need to work on is your feet, they’re turned in a little bit. It goes up through the legs. So you start with the basics and it will filter up. From the waist down it’s extraordinary and you’re quite magnificent.’

However, Anton’s words seemed to fall on deaf ears to some viewers, who still complained that Layton had an unfair advantage over the others.

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They said, ‘Not okay. I’m not even going to vote for this duo once, because Layton has a lot of professional dance experience. It deprives all other very worthy participants of scores. Bad decision Strictly.’

Another wrote: ‘Layton has an unfair advantage… has dance experience and is used to performing in front of a live audience.’

A third said: ‘It should strictly be about people like Angela Rippon, not Layton Williams. Don’t get me wrong, Layton is a fantastic West End performer, but he has so much more dancing experience. It should be about those who have nothing or little and are noticeably improving week after week.’

Another simply said: ‘Layton clearly has dance experience.’

Another joked: ‘Nice to see that all the experience through dance schools has paid off for Layton. Not exactly an amateur.’

However, others decided to look past his background and just enjoy the show, with one saying: ‘Wow Layton. Spectacular. Of course he has some experience, but that was spectacular!’

Another noted that Layton isn’t the only one with a dance background; Nigel Harman, who came top with 32 points, has also had previous experience.

He previously spoke about his past experiences: ‘I got a degree in musical theater when I was 16. So we danced. I wasn’t in the top stream.’

Noting his experience, one fan said: ‘It’s completely predictable for the female Strictly audience that you put Nigel’s previous dancing experience aside and try Layton for his experience.’

Another commented, “Everyone hated Layton’s dancing experience. Nigel took many dance lessons as a child, went to performing arts school, obtained a degree in musical theatre, spent six months as a dancer on a cruise ship and performed in numerous West End musicals. For your information.’

Someone else said: ‘It would be a travesty if the British public vilified Layton for his experience and I’m glad Shirley has given him tips to work on.’

Another fan wrote, “I think this is something Nikita should appreciate as a professional. The fact that Layton is not afraid to push boundaries, just go for it and give 110 percent. It’s just working on finer details and consistency for Layton now given his experience, but WHAT A STAR!!”

Someone commented on how progressive a win for Layton would be despite his experience: “There are many reasons why the public won’t vote for Layton as much as he deserves; prejudices about sexuality, race and even his own experience have always played a role in his strict voting. . But if this kid wins, the world will move forward to a slightly better place.”