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<\/p>\nBBC Strictly Come Dancing's Layton Williams has responded to fans' complaints about his latest performance, saying: "why shouldn't we." <\/p>\n
Viewers had the same complaint about his recent dance routine with partner Nikita Kuzmin, which involved a pole.<\/p>\n
During the show's special at Blackpool's Tower Ballroom, Layton and Nikita's performance was called "creative genius". <\/p>\n
However, some fans were surprised by the pole element of the routine, and now Layton has responded.<\/p>\n
When asked about the criticism from former Strictly professionals Brendan Cole and James Jordan over a pole-based routine on last week's episode of the BBC One show, Layton said: "I feel like we've always come out and kind of like done something potentially a little bit more out there pushing the boundaries… we've thrown in this and that… and there's always an element of surprise."<\/p>\n
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"Why shouldn't we be swinging from poles and living our best lives? It went down pretty (well) if you ask me, so I'm really proud, and I stand by it, it's also a couple's choice. Get into it."<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Nikita said the dance had "nothing more to it" than swinging around a pole and dancing. <\/p>\n
He added: "At the end of the day, we're just two boys dancing together, and we are having fun, we're trying to bring a show, and well, if somebody doesn't like this, it's absolutely fine."<\/p>\n
Layton also said people referencing his background performing in the West End was "disrespectful" to Strictly's professional dancers, who are "unbelievable" performers. <\/p>\n
He explained that the hardest part of competing in the series has been "the noise and the chaos and the silly questions and the silly assumptions" that he has had to deal with.<\/p>\n
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The 29 year old also added: "I think I've kind of learned to kind of just push that away, leave everything on the dance floor knowing that like, I've put my heart and soul into this. <\/p>\n
"I think sometimes because of the conversations, it's like, 'oh, yeah, well' and (this is) my hard work, by the way, but I just really am grateful that, one, I got to have this opportunity and (two) I've got this guy to dance with because we literally… (have) the best time." <\/p>\n
On Saturday, 25 November, Layton and Nikita kicked off the show with an American smooth to It's Oh So Quiet by Bjork, earning a total of 34 points for their routine.<\/p>\n
However, head judge Shirley Balls wasn't entirely impressed, describing the routine as "gestural and fun" but not "smooth enough", which led to boos from the live audience.<\/p>\n
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Fans seemed to agree with Shirley's critique. One person tweeted: "Overmarked again. Not an American smooth. Unfair that they scored more than Nigel and Katya." <\/p>\n
Another wrote: "I do appreciate how hard he's trying, but that American smooth didn't feel very smooth. Still a highly competent dance, but it was one of the weakest tonight." <\/p>\n
A third added: "Not sure Layton is improving week on week, and this definitely wasn't an American smooth. Wrong music and styling. <\/p>\n
"Didn't care for the choreography. It's ok to push boundaries, but sometimes traditional is ok."<\/p>\n
* This article was crafted with the help of an AI engine, which speeds up OK!'s editorial research and applies it to article templates created by journalists in our newsrooms. An OK! editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to okletters@reachplc.com <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n