Layton Williams has served another outstanding and historic performance on the latest episode of Strictly Come Dancing.
For week five of the long-running competition, the West End talent and his partner Nikita Kuzmin turned up the heat with a sizzling Salsa routine to Johnny Pacheco & Celia Cruz’s ‘Quimbara.’
At the start of their performance, the pair are sitting in a colourful cantina before Kuzmin challenges Williams to a dance duel.
As the music builds, the two talents execute intricate moves to one-up/impress each other before launching into their electric routine, which was full of twists, turns and dips.
Toward the end of their performance, Williams and Kuzmim channelled their inner Johnny and Baby from Dirty Dancing with an epic lift that stunned audience members.
Like last week’s Cha Cha routine, the pair were treated to rapturous applause and rave reviews from the judges.
“Listen, I went to Cuba, and I went to Club Tropicana, and I saw a show, and you guys, I could just steal you and put you in that show this incredible,” Motsi Mabuse exclaimed.
Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke echoed similar sentiments, with the former describing the two talents as a “magical team” and the latter stating they were “pretty much perfect.”
Lastly, Craig Revel Horwood also showered Williams and Kuzmin with praise but called on the Everybody’s Talking About Jamie star to point his toes more, resulting in playful boos from the crowd.
After reflecting on their routine with co-host Claudia Winkleman, the Billy Elliot star was finally treated to the judges’ scores.
Horwood started off the scores by giving the pair a nine, while Ballas, Du Beke, and Mabuse awarded them 10s, equalling 39 points.
Following their much-deserved celebration, Winkleman informed Williams and Kuzmin that they had broken another Strictly record.
“I have a fact. We haven’t had a 39 in Week Five for 13 years,” she exclaimed.
In response to the 29-year-old’s impressive performance and history-making scores, fans flocked to social media to shower the I Hate Suzie star’s with praise.
One fan wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): Love watching @LaytonWilliams and @kuzmin__nikita dance. They are soooooooooo amazing. They are my 2nd favourite on Strictly Come Dancing. I love them.”
Another viewer commented: “Absolutely love @LaytonWilliams and @kuzmin__nikita dance tonight those moves and lifts wow wow @bbcstrictly #Strictly.”
Williams’ incredible Week Five performance comes a few days after he opened up the online abuse from conservative Strictly fans.
“I’ve been trying to protect myself and not read as much, and truly think about the bigger picture,” he told The Guardian.
He also reiterated that despite his background in musical theatre, learning the intricate routines choreographed by Kuzmin is still a challenge.
“I’ve taken it on the chin; I get what everyone’s saying. But if you could be a fly on the wall in this rehearsal room, it’s not easy for me,” he said.
Check out Williams and Kuzmin’s full Salsa routine here or below.
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