Strictly’s Neil Jones defends Layton Williams amid show fix claims

Neil Jones, star of Strictly Come Dancing, has spoken out in response to accusations of a show fix, following claims from viewers that West End performer Layton Williams has an "unfair advantage."

The Unfair Advantage

Layton Williams, known for his roles in Billy Elliot and Everybody's Talking About Jamie, is partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin and scored the highest on the leaderboard in Saturday night's show. Fans are now questioning his participation in the competition due to his previous dance training.

Defending the Star

However, Neil Jones, who attended a Shakeup cosmetics brand event on Thursday, has jumped to defend Williams, stating "It’s like saying that an Olympian could enter any sport and be able to do it. Well no, they can’t." He also mentioned that while Williams is a performer, Nikita has been working hard on improving his technique.

Neil continued: "If you created a TV show where you had to dance ballet, I would enter that show and would not win. What people need to realise is on Strictly, there’s all different styles and techniques."

Fans Disgruntled

Since the announcement of Williams as a contestant, fans have continuously expressed their dissatisfaction with Strictly Come Dancing. One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, commented that Williams is "unbelievably good" and potentially better than the professionals. Another added, "The poor other contestants like 78-year-old Angela [Rippon] are wasting their precious time to this box-ticking bull**** agenda."

A third fan questioned the fairness of allowing Williams to participate, stating that he is a professional dancer and has already played the lead in Billy Elliot and Michael Jackson.

Brendan Cole's Perspective

Brendan Cole, a former Strictly professional, also shared his thoughts on the situation. Speaking to The Celeb Report on behalf of Sky Bingo, Cole said, "[Layton] 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." Cole expressed sympathy for the other contestants, claiming that they cannot compete with Williams at his current level.

Cole described Williams and Kuzmin as "absolutely brilliant" but also acknowledged that it feels like there are "two competitions going on: Layton and Nikita, and everybody else."