Layton Williams has addressed his final Strictly result. (BBC)
Layton Williams has addressed the final result of his Strictly Come Dancing journey, after placing second in the BBC dance contest.
The Bad Education star and his dance partner Nikita Kuzmin became the second same-sex couple in Strictly history to make it to the final – and they made sure no one would be able to forget them with a jaw-dropping final dance.
Despite scoring yet another perfect score for their last performance, Williams lost out on the Glitterball trophy to Coronation Street star Ellie Leach and her dance partner Vito Coppola.
Leach also beat out EastEnders star Bobby Brazier and his partner Dianne Buswell, who came in third place.
Despite smashing his performances every single week, Layton hasn’t had an easy Strictly run, with many viewers accusing the actor of having an unfair advantage because of his West End background.
Layton made his West End debut as Billy Elliot when he was 12 years old and went on to star in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie from 2021 to 2022.
But, despite the pile-on from butt-hurt viewers, Williams earned a huge gang of supporters, who cheered him on every single week – and they’re devastated to see he didn’t win the contest.
After the final aired on BBC One, Williams took to Instagram to share a post from a fan, who was devastated that he hadn’t taken home the trophy.
The fan had posted a photo of her son wearing a princess dress, accompanied by the caption: “A lot of heartbreak in our house today over the @BBCStrictly result.
“@laytonwilliams @nikita_kuzmin thank you from the bottom of our hearts for showing him that being fully, fabulously, unapologetically himself is to be celebrated.”
Williams reposted the sweet photo with a red heart emoji and a happy crying emoji.
An hour later, the actor revealed that he wasted no time in enjoying some well-deserved rest and recuperation after an intense 12 weeks of dancing.
Posting a photo from a luxurious-looking bubble bath with a cup of tea in hand, Williams wrote: “Aaaaannnnd… Relax.”
Between Williams, Leach, and Brazier, this year saw the youngest line-up of finalists in Strictly history – and that’s far from the only record that Williams smashed.
Back in October, Williams and Kuzmin broke a number of Strictly Come Dancing records with their awe-inspiring routines.
One week, after the pair performed an intricate cha-cha, they were informed that they had earned the earliest-ever full marks score from a judge in Strictly history.
Not only that, but on four separate occasions, the pair danced so well that they performed the highest-scoring dance of the season. Of the 12 weeks that Strictly ran for, Williams and Kuzmin topped the leaderboard eight times.
While many agree that Williams was the best dancer in this year’s contest, Strictly’s winner ultimately came down to a public vote that determined Leach would take home the Glitterball.
Still, Williams can be proud of rightfully lasting the entire way through the competition series and handling every challenge that came his way with class and resilience, coming back stronger every single time.