Strictly's Shirley Ballas accuses Layton of 'breaking the rules' in dance-off

30 November 2023 , 12:11

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Shirley Ballas explains why she voted Layton Williams off ITV Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas has explained why she didn't choose to save Layton Williams in the latest dance-off, stating he 'didn't follow the rules'.

The Wirral ballroom dancer, who has served as the head judge on the BBC reality series since 2017, hit headlines on Sunday after voting for Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu to remain in the competition over the Bad Education star. Layton and his partner Nikita Kuzmin ultimately survived the dance-off after being voted to stay by Craig Revel-Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke but that hasn't stopped fans of theirs griping at Shirley's treatment of the 29-year-old. The 'Queen of Latin' has now shared her reasons for backing Angela, explaining that she believes the Irish presenter's routine was more masterful than her opponent's.

Shirley Ballas has revealed why she voted for Layton and Nikita to leave the competition

"Well important for me always when it comes to Ballroom and Latin is the character of the dance, that it's true to the dance, timing and quality and I would have voted for Angela and Carlos," she said.

This follows her critique of Layton and Nikita's performance on Saturday night, which led fans to accuse her of having a personal issue with the Billy Elliot star. "Shirley definitely has a problem with Layton, her comments to him this week were bordering on downright rude actually," one frustrated viewer wrote. "She also can't handle boos from the audience. #Strictly." Another, @TraceyCoutts, added: "Shirley is so much more picky with Layton."

Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas received strong criticism for choosing to save Angela over Layton (ITV)

Shirley has since defended her stance, stating that Layton, whom she described as a "marvellous dancer", didn't adhere to the rules with his American Smooth. "I'm very much a rule follower," the 63-year old admitted. Anton, 57, agreed with Shirley's decision to save Angela, joking: "I just thought she danced better," to which Shirley responded enthusiastically: "She was amazing. I love it that it was all authentic, her leg action was absolutely superb."

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Next week, Layton and Nikita will perform the Paso Doble to Backstage Romance from Moulin Rouge as part of Musicals Week. The West End star opened up about his experience of negative comments from trolls ahead of the Quarter Final, telling This Morning's Rochelle Humes that he often receives rude messages about his appearance on Strictly.

"I'm quite effeminate sometimes and I like to wear this and I do whatever I want," he said on the ITV breakfast show. "The team are really behind us and it's like, 'Can you not just dress as a man?' and 'Please, please, please, put a suit on. Nikita, who was also present for the interview, jumped in to say: "Sometimes we get a bit defensive of our partners," he admitted, before adding that he finds the abuse "sad and unnecessary."

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Emma Dooney