Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood admits he didn’t think Layton Williams would make the final due to his West End experience amid ‘advantage’ backlash: ‘Mostly great dancers don’t do well’

Craig Revel Horwood has admitted he didn't think Layton Williams would make it to the final of Strictly Come Dancing, despite his incredible dancing skills.

The judge, known for his harsh criticism and poker face, finally brought out his 10 paddle for Layton and his dance partner Nikita Kuzmin's Paso Doble performance in the quarterfinals.

And the 58-year-old has now revealed that when he first saw 29-year-old Layton dance, he didn't think he would go all the way because of his previous West End experience.

Craig insisted that 'usually great dancers don't do well on the show', following a backlash that saw Layton hit by vicious trolling and accused of having an 'advantage' due to his dancing background.

Speaking to Claudia Winkleman on her Radio 2 show on Saturday alongside fellow judge Motsi Mabuse, the pair reflected on who impressed during the launch show.

Although Layton has wowed the judges with his incredible dancing skills, he has also been subjected to cruel trolling during the competition due to his dancing background.

Speaking of Layton, Craig said: “I could tell he could dance, but he was wearing heels. I remember thinking, “Wow, I think he's good, but will he make it to the finals? Probably not.”

“Usually good dancers don't do well in the show.”

While Layton, who starred in the West End hit Everybody's Talking About Jamie, wowed the judges with his incredible dancing skills and scored a perfect 40 in the semi-final for his Charleston, he was also subjected to vicious trolling.

Over the course of the competition, critics have criticized the dancer for his West End career background.

But earlier in the competition, Layton hit back at the “hateful” trolls, as he urged harsh critics to 'use their energy to shower love', instead of writing hurtful comments.

Sharing photos of his salsa performance, he wrote, “Instead of coming at me with hateful comments, use your energy to shower your favorite celeb with love. We're pretty sure it will make us all feel a lot better!'

He also hinted this week that the hate could have been caused by his multiracial background and the fact that he is gay.

The artist said the level of trolling was 'shocking' and admitted that while Strictly has featured same-sex couples in the past, he is the first 'queer' contestant to fully express their 'flamboyant' personality on the dance floor.

Speaking of Layton, Craig said: “I could tell he could dance, but he was wearing heels. I remember thinking, “Wow, I think he's good, but will he make it to the finals? Probably not. Usually great dancers don't do well in the show.”

Layton, who dances with male professional Nikita Kuzmin, says the level of trolling is 'shocking'

The actor previously hit back at trolls when he took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to urge harsh critics to “use their energy to shower with love,” instead of hurtful comments

The Bad Education actor admits that although Strictly has featured same-sex couples in the past, he is the first 'queer' contestant to fully express their 'flamboyant' personality

Ahead of Saturday's final, he said: “I was obviously aware that there might be noise, but I definitely didn't expect how much it would be because I'm certainly not the first person to be in this position and I I don't understand why this is shocking horror news, because I'm not the first and won't be the last. Let's keep it moving, you know?

“From the beginning I thought, cool, if people expect a certain level, let's give it to them and then some.”

When I looked at the line-up at the very first launch show, all I could think was “oh dear”, because Annabel will absolutely hopelessly never get anywhere in the competition and tennis players usually come out on top, so that surprised me. It really shocked me.

Layton also claimed that his critics only criticized him when he received high scores and that his social media quieted down during the weeks when he received lower scores from the judges.

When he danced the Viennese Waltz to There Are Worse Things I Could Do from Grease, he only received 28 out of 40 points, showing that he is not automatically at the top of the leaderboard every week.

“It was hard, the pressure of feeling like you have to do well,” said Layton, who will face Ellie Leach, 22, and Bobby Brazier, 20, on Saturday in an attempt to lift the Glitterball Trophy to drag.

“Here's the funny thing, no one goes hard and moans or complains when I'm rubbish… remember the Viennese Waltz? I didn't get many tweets that week, did I! It's only when you act cute that people want to put you down, and that's fine, and we've managed to get around that.

“It didn't define my journey. What has defined my journey is who we have been able to inspire, not people who are keyboard warriors, which is only a small percentage.”