Fans of Nikita Kuzmin and Layton Williams rushed to defend them following week five of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night. The pair, who scored a 39 for their salsa – the first 39 in week five for thirteen years – brought the house down with their routine and wowed the judges and viewers at home alike.
But after weeks of criticism regarding Layton's previous dance experience, fans took to social media to defend the Bad Education actor and praise the duo for their great number.
One person wrote on Instagram: "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."
Another echoed this, writing to passionately stick up for Layton: "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."
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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."
Many more were keen to heap support on the pair. "INCREDIBLE!!! people can go cry about him being a 'pro' somewhere else or start mentioning all of the other celebs with training if we want to make it fair. I love watching Layton and Nikita every week, their relationship is so special and they just work together so well," said a fourth. A fifth commented: "Fed up with people digging Layton out leave him alone he's amazing."
Layton and Nikita made their salsa look effortless on Saturday night and the four judges, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke were in awe of their routine. Shirley mentioned how the pair looked "like twins" out on the dancefloor, while Anton said he had nothing to say as it was "nearly perfect."
The West End and Bad Education star had a rocky start to the competition after receiving some criticism from the judges about his technique not matching his performance skills, however, Layton has clearly bounced back and last week saw them score high thanks to their disco-themed Cha Cha Cha to Million Dollar Bill by Whitney Houston. The pair scored a very impressive 37.
After Saturday's success, Nikita took to Instagram to share how pleased he was with the reaction to his and Layton's salsa. The professional even shared video a tutorial with his followers so they could learn the routine for themselves. The dancer wrote in the caption: "So happy with the result from last night, thank you!! And here's how you do our salsa."