Strictly Come Dancing professional Nikita Kuzmin has admitted he was “emotional” at the end of his routine alongside Layton Williams after opening Saturday’s live show.
The dancer, who performed a Jive with the Bad Education actor, was chatting to Claudia Winkleman in the ‘Clauditorium’ of the studio when he said how proud he was of his celebrity partner, admitting he almost broke into tears when they finished their routine.
WATCH: Layton and Nikita get top score on Strictly
Claudia said to the Ballroom and Latin champion: “You said you’ve never been more proud of Layton?” to which Nikita said: “Yeah, this week he just worked so, so hard,” adding: “That’s why I was emotional when you finished dancing because I was so proud of you.
“You and I know what happens in the room, and you just did so, so well. Well done, Layton.”
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© Guy Levy
Nikita Kuzmin and Layton Williams
Layton and Nikita have wowed the audiences and their fellow dancers on the show, but the scores and comments have been somewhat up and down over the course of the series.
Their Jive seemed to divide the judges on Saturday, with Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood pointing out the star’s turned-in feet, while head judge Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse were big fans of the fast-paced routine and had plenty of praise for Layton’s performance skills.
© BBC
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin have scored highly on the show
Craig and Anton gave the pair a score of eight out of ten, but it was full marks for Layton and Nikita from Motsi and Shirley.
And it’s not just the judges who have been divided over Layton and Nikita’s routines. Some fans have voiced their thoughts on Layton’s dance experience before joining the show due to his previous work on the West End.
However, supporters of the dancing couple have been quick to jump to their defence. Last week, many commented on an Instagram post of theirs and shut down critics.
© Guy Levy
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin
“Imagine not wanting to watch good dancing on a dancing show. Couldn’t be me. Layton and Nikita are absolute fire to watch. Most Inspired pairing for years!!! My winners,” wrote one.
Another said: “And those that comment about ‘He’s already trained’ so what? It’s about celebrities dancing, that’s it. Go get me the rule book that says they can’t have already danced before or had some previous training? Or switch the channel if you don’t like it. Get a grip. It’s just a TV show.”
A third added: “So bored of this. Give the guy a break. If you watch the backstage footage you can see that he doesn’t know this style of dance. Get over it and just enjoy the show.”
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