Actor Layton Williams was one of the first Strictly 2023 contestants to be announced on The One Show in August.
He’s now becoming a firm favourite on the BBC show!
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How old is Layton Williams?
Layton is currently 29-years-old.
He was born in Bury, Greater Manchester but moved to London aged only 11 to pursue his acting career.
— Layton Williams (@LaytonWilliams) March 29, 2023
His training for his first big role, in Billy Elliott, was documented on The Paul O’Grady Show.
What has Layton Williams been in?
Layton is probably best known for his role in Jack Whitehall’s BBC comedy, Bad Education. He played student Stephen Carmichael from 2012 to 2014 and returned for the 2015 spin-off film.
He reprised his role once again in last year’s tenth anniversary reunion special, which saw Stephen returning to school as a teacher. Here he was established as the co-lead for the upcoming fourth series.
Layton has also starred in Greg Davies’ sitcom The Cleaner, award-winning Sky drama I Hate Suzy and even had a small role as an airport check-in assistant in Benidorm.
If you don’t recognise him, you might well recognise his voice from the recent gay dating show I Kissed a Boy for which he provided the voiceover.
Where did Layton Williams train?
Younger viewers might remember Layton as one of the stars of CBBC’s School for Stars. The documentary followed Layton and several of his fellow then-wannabe stars at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
Prior to this, he attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School on a scholarship. However he recently revealed on Jamie Laing‘s podcast that he was expelled due to bad behaviour.
“I wouldn’t want to say I was a brat…but I was just raucous.” He said, “I was just like ‘let me stand on this table and sing everyone a song’ because I was just that bored.”
Layton Williams trained dancer
His time at stage school and various West End credits, which include the title role in Billy Elliott, young Michael Jackson in Thriller – Live, Angel in Rent and most recently, Jamie in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, have seen him hit by complaints from Strictly fans that he’s already a trained dancer.
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While he undeniably has moves, Layton has denied having an unfair advantage over his fellow contestants. In fact, he told The One Show that he’s worried his prior dance experiences might actually be a hindrance to him on Strictly.
I’m not trained in Ballroom and Latin
“I’m aware that potentially they may come in the way. I’m quite a perfectionist when it comes to dancing and I’m not trained in Ballroom and Latin so I hope that I feel confident.” He said.
Dance icon Louie Spence has stepped in to defend Layton to this effect, saying in a TikTok: “I see that Layton Williams is doing Strictly and I mean how fabulous. Now I also see there’s already controversy about him doing it because he’s a dancer…I just want everyone to understand that he doesn’t have an advantage just because he dances. I mean it’s a completely different technique.”
Is Layton Williams married?
Layton is currently single, after breaking up with his fellow actor boyfriend Michael Craig Dawson last year.
“I’ve never felt heartbreak like it.” He said of the breakup, which occurred when the couple were looking for a house to move into together.
However, he recently suggested that he is very much ready to mingle again.
It’s cuffing season
“It’s cuffing season.” He told Jamie Laing last month, “It truly is. Hopefully by winter you’ve got that chest to sleep on, you know? So fingers crossed.”
Could a Strictly romance be on the cards for Layton then, we wonder?
Layton Williams partner
A proud LGBTQ+ icon, Layton previously stated that he will be paired up with a male professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing. He is dancing with Nikita Kuzmin.
I want to be flung around
“I’ve said I want to dance with a man. I want to be flung around.” He previously said. “Basically, at college I was always very jealous of the girls being thrown around and was like, ‘I want to be that!’ So I can’t wait to get flung around and wear some glittery costumes.”
Read more: Here’s your complete Strictly Come Dancing 2023 line-up – with full odds on who’ll win!
So who will you be supporting on Strictly Come Dancing this year? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.