Dame Arlene Phillips has admitted that West End star Layton Williams has the edge on Strictly Come Dancing this year.
Trained dancer Layton scored 36 out of 40 on Saturday for his Tango to Olivia Rodrigo’s Vampire with professional partner Nikita Kuzmin.
He earned a whopping 39 out of 40 from the judges over the past two weeks and got the first 10 the series has ever seen in week four.
There is no rule that celebrities cannot have any dancing experience before taking part in the show, but it has led to complaints about an unfair playing field between the contestants.
Now former judge Arlene, 80, has admitted the star has an advantage over the other contestants as he has been on stage since he was 12.
Unfair? West End star Layton Williams has been criticized for having an ‘advantage’ on Strictly as a trained dancer (pictured for Saturday’s Halloween episode)
Debate: Dame Arlene Phillips, 80, admits professional dancers have an advantage in exclusive interview with MailOnline
Dame Arlene told MailOnline exclusively at the Paul Strank Charity Gala: ‘I’m thrilled to see Angela Ripton and Layton Williams, who I’ve worked with as a dancer. He’s great, and I’m really excited because they’re people I know.
“Anyone who has danced has an advantage, without a doubt, because they know how to go forward and backward, they know right and left, and they understand their bodies.
‘They don’t start at the beginning. If I have never taken a step – how do I go back, wait for my balance.”
Arlene went on to call Layton ‘one of the best dancers in Britain’ as he quickly progresses in the dancing competition.
She continued, “Layton is a very special and peaceful person. He gives everything he can and works so hard in everything he does, and he doesn’t need my advice.
‘And as dancers I have to be honest: Layton is one of the best dancers in Britain.
‘He’s phenomenal! But he hasn’t done Ballroom and Latin yet and in America, on Dancing With The Stars, they have a lot of people who have done that before, and we generally don’t do that because we like an underdog here.’
A Strictly insider previously told MailOnline that Layton is ‘not the first person with dance experience’ to have appeared on the show.
Experienced: Layton is a trained dancer and first appeared on stage at the age of 12
They added that he was “never trained in Latin and ballroom and was booked because he has a fantastic character.”
Others who have appeared on Strictly with dance experience include Kimberley Walsh, Abbey Clancy, Maisie Smith and Fleur East.
When Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts appeared on the show in 2018, she was criticized by fans for having an unfair advantage with her dancing experience.
Ashley regularly ended up in the bottom two after the public vote – despite high scores from the judges for her dancing with professional partner Giovanni Pernice.
Speaking about the criticism of his ‘unfair advantage’, Williams said: ‘I’ve taken it on the chin, I understand what everyone is saying. But if you could be a fly on the wall in this practice room, that’s not easy for me.”
And in another interview he said his stage experience was not directly relevant to Strictly, insisting: ‘I can’t stress enough how different (Strictly is)… it’s like a plumber trying to become an electrician!’
High score: Layton has scored 39 out of 40 twice and also claimed the first 10 ever awarded
A source told The Mail on Sunday that Layton’s co-stars are becoming increasingly frustrated at having to compete with the dance professional.
The source said: ‘Of course there have always been dancers of different levels on Strictly, that’s part of the greatness of the show.
‘But this is ridiculous, he is as good or even better than his professional partner.
“There is such an uneven playing field here that it is not a chance for any of the other contestants to win, even though viewers enjoy watching a celebrity’s journey.
“While there may not be a rule that professional dancers cannot participate, this is absolutely against the spirit of the show.
“Look at someone like Krishnan Guru-Murthy, he has built a huge fan base and is great to watch, and Angela Rippon. But they are blown out of the water every week by someone who is a professional dancer.’