Layton Williams has come under fire from a number of Strictly Come Dancing fans who took issue with his reaction to landing in the dance-off opposite Angela Scanlon on Sunday evening.
Despite finishing fourth out of six on the leaderboard, Williams landed in the dreaded dance-off following the public vote.
He and Nikita Kuzmin had to perform their American Smooth for the second time during Sunday’s results show and luckily for them, three out of the four judges felt they deserved a spot in next week’s quarter-final.
Shirley Ballas did reveal she’d have saved Scanlon and Carlos Gu but it wasn’t enough for her to usurp Williams in the contest.
However, it was when the red light first beamed down on Williams that caught the eye of a number of BBC viewers.
“Oh my goodness me, the competition is fierce now, isn’t it?” Tess Daly said as Williams and Kuzmin made their way down from the stairs after landing in the dance-off.
Angela Scanlon lost the dance-off to Layton and Nikita
BBC
As she held out a supportive hand, she continued: “I’m so sorry to see you here, how are you doing?”
However, Williams didn’t appear to reach for Daly’s hand and simply replied: “Obviously disappointed, going from the top to bottom, I’m really sorry.
“But I’m just gonna go out and do my best and put on a show and have a good time.”
While a number of Strictly fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their verdict on Williams and Kuzmin’s spot in the dance-off, there were a few who raised their concerns with his reaction to Daly.
Sharing a clip of the moment on X, one fan penned: “Is it me or did you notice when Tess held her hand out to Layton he deliberately moved his away…..#Strictly.”
It didn’t take long for a number of fans to concur, with a second replying: “Think he assumed he’d get through.”
And a third weighed into the discussion: “Yes I did…….He has to go tonight.”
Elsewhere, a fourth posted: “Ooh Layton is fuming #Strictly,” followed by a laughing emoji.
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin have made it to the quarter-finals
BBC
While a fifth also spotted the reaction: “Well…Layton will be fuming by now…#StrictlyComeDancing.”
However, there were still plenty of Strictly viewers who were overjoyed to see Williams and Kuzmin progress to the quarter-finals, including one X user who penned: “My palms have never been so sweaty! Cannot believe Layton and Nikita were in the dance off! Literally the second best couple in the competition #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing.”
And another shared their relief: “OH THANK GOODNESS!!! I skipped straight to the dance off and my fears of Layton and Nikita being in the bottom 2 were confirmed, but the judges saved them!!! But we can’t let this happen again, so please, pleeeeaaase vote for them next week!!! #strictly.” (sic)
Williams will take part in next week’s quarter-final alongside Annabel Croft, Nigel Harman, Bobby Brazier and Ellie Leach.
