BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans claim 'sabotage' during Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin routine amid 'double standards'

Strictly Come Dancing fans made claims of 'sabotage' during one of Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin's last routines of the series. The actor and West End star and his professional dance partner made it to the final of the BBC One dance contest on Saturday night (December 16).

They were joined as the competition reached its climax by Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola and Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell with all three remaining couples performing three times each in a bid to be crowned the 2023 winners and awarded the coveted Glitterball trophy.

Kicking off his finale, Bury-born Layton was awarded full marks after he performed his first dance of the night. The 29-year-old stage and screen star and his professional dance partner, Nikita, 26, revisited their quickstep to Puttin’ On The Ritz, as chosen for them by the judges.

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The couple received the first full marks of the night and the judges discussed the improvements Layton had made since he first performed the routine in week two of the competition. Anton Du Beke said: "We chose this dance because we wanted you to improve it, you’ve improved it out of sight."

Layton was later told he was "showing off" after he performed his second dance of the night. The Bad Education star performed a show dance to Friend Like Me in the style of Ne-Yo with Nikita.

Speaking about his dance, judge Anton Du Beke told Layton: "It's sort of ridiculous, to be honest with you, it’s showing off," before the couple were awarded 39 points by the judges.

Thanking his supporters after his dance, Layton