16 December 2023 , 18:30
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Layton Williams harbours hopes of lifting Strictly Come Dancing's famous Glitterball Trophy tonight (December 16) with his professional dance partner, Nikita Kuzmin.
The 29-year old goes head-to-head with former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach and EastEnders' Bobby Brazier in what promises to be one of the closest finals in recent years. The actor has wowed the judges throughout this year's competition, landing the only two perfect scores of the series earlier this month.
Layton is used to the attention and limelight, however, given his musical theatre background. At the young age of 12, he rose to fame after he starred as Billy Elliot in the musical, being a regular star in the world of the West End, continuously wowing his audiences. One of his most recent roles was playing the lead role in Everybody's Talking About Jamie, a role that established him as a force to be reckoned with in the world of theatre.
Layton and Nikita have struck up a close bond on their Strictly journey (BBC)Away from BBC screens, meanwhile, little is known about Bad Education star's "secretive love life" and "mystery boyfriend" - but fear not as we have dug deep and uncovered some interesting facts about his romancing. The heartthrob from Bury, Greater Manchester, has had his fair share of relationships in the past, but has remained tight-lipped about his current relationship status.
According to sources, Layton is head over heels in love with his current beau and earlier this year took to his Instagram story with a photo of a mystery man wearing a cap along with a heart emoji in the caption. Accompanying a second photo, he wrote: "Yes, that was a soft launch. No, you ain't getting his @."
EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness
Since then, Layton has kept his fans guessing about his relationship status, leaving everyone wondering who the lucky man could be. Earlier in December, the Sun reported that his mystery boyfriend goes by the name of James Harper - after he posted a picture of them at Glastonbury and a snap of them drinking wine together.
The publication added that "James has been by Layton’s side throughout Strictly. He even travelled to Blackpool to watch him perform there." James is reportedly also an actor and also runs a deli bar in London.
Layton and Nikita are the only dance couple to record a perfect score (twice) during this Strictly series (PA)Last week Nikita - to whom Layton has grown close throughout the series - made a loving comment about his partner as he discussed why he deserves his place in the final with co-host Claudia Winkleman. The dancer heaped praise on Layton and hinted at the personal hardships he had faced over the past few weeks, making a cryptic comment before telling him they were the best of friends.
"You try to bring joy to everyone," Nikita said. "No matter what happens outside or in your personal life - I'm not going to go into that - you always bring joy. You make me shine with how much you are shining, you are one of my best friends."
Back in October, meanwhile, it was reported Layton had "hit it off" as friends with Johannes Radebe, 36, who has been a professional dancer on the show since 2018. In September Layton interviewed the dancer for the BAFTAs about his experience of joining the show. An emotional Johannes told him: "I only started dreaming when I got to this country." A source at the time said: "Layton and Johannes hit it off from the start. They have a similar sense of humour and seem to really get each other... it’s been great for him to have Johannes’ support behind the scenes. Together they are hilarious, a real whirlwind of fun."
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