Strictly: Layton Williams announces he’s joined the cast of 2023

Although Layton Williams attended private theatre schools including Sylvia Young and Italia Conti, it did not come without sacrifice.

The West End performer admits his family could not afford the steep fees needed to attend and instead, he worked hard to help fund himself through secondary education with the help of scholarships.

Speaking to The Guardian, Layton shared: “I earned the most money in my family at 12 years old.

“We couldn’t afford private school – I needed a scholarship – and Italia Conti were amazing.”

During his Billy Elliot run Layton was cast in Beautiful People, the sitcom based on Simon Doonan’s memoirs that starred Olivia Colman.

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After the show finished filming its first season, Layton’s early career stalled and he found himself completing secondary school in Bury.

While in the West End, Layton had a private tutor and was in a theatreland bubble where he was free to express himself.

Back in Bury, he had to deal with bullying and the fear that his two-year stint in Billy Elliot was the sum total of his acting career.

A second season of Beautiful People and a scholarship to the Italia Conti Academy gave Layton a route back to London, and he has stayed ever since.

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He has appeared in contemporary musical theatre productions and also landed a role in Jack Whitehall’s comedy Bad Education.

Now Layton is gearing up to make his reality show debut on the upcoming season of Strictly Come Dancing.

The star, 28, became one of the first contestants confirmed for this series and will be joining the likes of Amanda Abbington, Angela Rippon, Les Dennis, and Adam Thomas.

And while none of the contestants knows who they’ll be dancing with yet, Layton is sure he’ll be in a same-sex pairing.

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Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the Bad Education actor wrote: “I’m 100% gonna be paired up with a man.”

As fans begged to know more, Layton insisted: “PS – I don’t know who my partner is lol and even if I did it’s giving. We genuinely don’t know until that very moment on screen. Wild right?!”

Playing coy, Layton had previously shared a lips-zipped-shut emoji, but that didn’t stop fans trying to get it out of him.

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