I was on Strictly and Layton Williams is as good as a professional dancer – the other celebs don’t stand a chance
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Brendan Cole says he 'feels sorry' for this year's celebrities because Layton Williams is in the lineup.
The West End star is partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin and they topped the leaderboard on Saturday night.
But former Strictly pro Brendan has branded Layton's presence on the show as a "tough pill to swallow" for the other stars.
Speaking to The Sun on behalf of , Brendan said: "[Leyton] is a professional performer.
"I know he's not done ballroom dancing before, but there's too much of a difference between him and the rest.
"I feel sorry for the rest because they can't even compete with it currently. "
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Brendan described Layton and Nikita as "absolutely brilliant" but explained: "It's like there are two competitions going on. Layton and Nikita, and everybody else."
He added: "I just think it's a bit of a tough pill for the rest of them to swallow because they can't compete with it. He's always going to be phenomenal to watch."
Brendan, who starred on Strictly from 2003 to 2018, isn't the only former star to criticise Layton's casting on the show.
Fellow former Strictly pro James Jordan has also raised his concerns about professional dancers being allowed among the lineup.
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James told HELLO! this week: "Do I feel Strictly are going too far by bringing on professionally trained l dancers? Yes.
"I would actually say to anyone thinking of doing Strictly, 'Don't do Strictly unless you're dance trained in some shape or form because you don't have a chance'."
Layton has starred in the musicals Billy Elliot and Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
On Strictly last weekend, he and Nikita performed a samba and seriously impressed the judges.
But fans are also struggling to see past Layton's professional dance training.
Moaning on X, formerly known as Twitter, one said: "He’s a west end dancer since 12!!! He’s unbelievably good, played billy eliiott and MJ in thriller, possibly better than the pro’s but ticks every box…."
Another agreed: "The poor other contestants like 78 year old Angela [Rippon] are wasting there precious time to this box ticking bull s**** agenda."
A third wrote: "How is Layton Williams allowed to be on Strictly? He’s a professional dancer. Played the lead in Billy Elliott and Michael Jackson. Not fair."
