BBC Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood admits he didn't think Layton Williams would make it to final

ok.co.uk:

Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood has admitted that he didn't think that Bad Education star, Layton Williams, would end up in this year's final.The 58 year old, who has been a judge on the show since its inception back in 2004, revealed the reason he thought Layton wouldn't go all the way was because of his background in professional dancing and performance.

Rather, he thought Layton's West End stints may have hindered him, rather than helped him.To recap, before landing a place on Strictly, Layton was known for his slew of musical theatre roles, having bagged lead parts in Billy Elliot the Musical, Thriller - Live, Hairspray the Musical, Rent, and most recently, Everybody's Talking About Jamie.

However, despite also being professionally trained at prestigious performing arts institutions - the Sylvia Young Theatre School and the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts - Craig expressed that "mostly great dancers don't do well on the show." While speaking to Strictly presenter Claudia Winkleman on her BBC Radio 2 show with fellow judge Motsi Mabuse, Craig also recalled his first impressions of Layton. "I could see he could dance but he was in heels, and I remember thinking 'wow I think he's good but will he get to the final?

Probably not.'" This statement - along with "great dancers" not doing well - isn't a reflection on Layton's skills. Instead, it's to do with professional dancers often receiving criticism and backlash over their prior training, with viewers claiming such contestants have an 'unfair advantage' over other celebs.