James Jordan has shared his thoughts on this year's Strictly Come Dancing, branding finalist Layton Williams the "best dancer" the BBC show has ever seen, but questioned the decision to let him appear.
James, 45, who appeared on Strictly from 2006 until 2013, posts his opinions about the BBC One show each week, revealing which dances he loves and whether he agrees with the judges' scoring.
Ahead of the final, which will air on Saturday, 16 December, James opened up about Layton, 29, after he received a perfect score of 40 out of 40 for his Charleston with Nikita Kuzmin, 25, during the semi-final.
Speaking to Hello!, James said: "It’s the best dance I’ve seen in any of the Strictly Come Dancing's all round the world. I loved it, I watched it and thought oh my god that was epic, but does that make it right."
While James sung Layton's praises, he proceeded to question whether letting the West End star appear on Strictly was the right decision, as it isn't what "Strictly is supposed to be" and could "taint" what the show is truly about.
He went on: "Is that what Strictly is supposed to be. Is that what Strictly has come to that we have fully-trained dancers on the show? For me, it’s not what Strictly is supposed to be."
James added: "It was so good but what is everyone else supposed to do. So for me, I would say to anyone who is thinking of doing Strictly, don’t do Strictly unless you’re a trained dancer."
Layton has wowed on the dance floor throughout the series and was the first celebrity to be awarded a perfect score in this year's series. However, he has been hit with criticism frequently from viewers, due to his previous dance experience with some claiming he has an advantage over others in the competition who have never danced before.
Layton is a successful West End performer, having starred in musicals such as Billy Elliot, Hairspray, Rent and Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
He recently hit out at Strictly fans who have been sending him negative messages on social media, having regularly spoke out about the trolling he's received during his time on the show.
Responding to a supportive message from ex-Strictly star Robin Windsor on X, formerly known as Twitter, Layton said: "Thanks Robin. Luckily I have thick skin but it's so draining that so called ‘Strictly fans’ go out of their way to drag me down to lift others up.
"Their fave couples would be SO embarrassed by their comments & so should they,” he continued. They'll never dim my shine. Big love x".
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