Strictly Come Dancing star fumes Layton Williams dance has 'no place on show'

23 November 2023 , 09:34

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Layton and Nikita pole danced during their routine (Image: ITV, BBC)

Former BBC Strictly Come Dancing star James Jordan has declared that Layton Williams' dance had "no place on show".

The former professional dancer gives his own ratings of the dances each week but said the West End star's Blackpool week dance wasn't suitable for the programme.

Layton, 29, and his pro partner Nikita Kuzmin, 25, pole danced during their couple's choice performance on Saturday but James has said he wasn't a fan. Despite saying he would rate the overall dance a nine and being impressed by Layton's skills, he still thinks that the pole element wasn't the usual Strictly style.

James said Layton Williams' dance had 'no place on show' (Getty Images)

Viewers were left divided (BBC/Guy Levy)

Speaking on HELLO! Strictly the Truth, the 45-year-old said: "Did I think that dance had a place on Strictly? Absolutely not. If you had given it a 10, I'd go, 'Yeah I get that, I understand why you've given it a 10'. There were some synchronicity issues where I felt they weren't doing the same thing, which Craig picked up on.

"I gave it a nine, I'm not denying that it's amazing, he does things that I would love to be able to do, his flexibility, his flips and things like that, he is a beautiful dancer, he is amazing but for me, that is not Strictly. That's just my opinion."

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Nikita and Layton wowed the judges with their routine to Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man on Saturday night. The duo went on to receive 39 points out of a possible 40 from the judges and ended up topping the leaderboard in joint first place with Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola.

Motsi Mabuse, Anton du Beke and Shirley Ballas all gave the pair 10 points, but Craig Revel Horwood gave them a nine. During the comments, he went on to say he loved the overall dance but noticed there were parts where they weren't perfectly syncronised.

Viewers, on the other hand, were left divided with some loving the dance but some agreeing with James that pole dancing shouldn't be on the BBC show. Despite this, the couple managed to make it through to the next week so will have another opportunity to dance again this Saturday.

Viewers were left divided over the routine, with some being in favour of the couple's choice performance, while others said pole dancing shouldn't be on Strictly.

One person took to Twitter to say: "Have to go with Craig. On Layton and Nikita - That wasn’t the least bit ballroom. Really don’t get why two professionally trained dancers who aren’t retired are allowed to pair up. #Strictly Also don’t need to see pole dancing on a Sat night. I only go on Sundays."

As one disagreed saying: "Nikita and Layton gyrating around a pole to Christina Aguilera ... #Strictly really does keep on giving." Despite the divided reaction, Layton and Nikita made it through Blackpool week and will be performing again next Saturday.

Charlotte Everett