STRICTLY judge Craig Revel Horwood has taken a swipe at Layton Williams in a new interview hours before the winner is announced.<\/p>\n

The catty panellist has revealed he never thought the West End star would make tonight's final.<\/p>\n

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Speaking on presenter Claudia Winkleman's BBC Radio 2 show earlier today, Craig admitted he doubted the Bury lad's popularity with the public following backlash over his previous dance experience.<\/p>\n

The Aussie star, 58, said: "I could see he could dance but he was in heels, I remember thinking 'wow I think he's good but will he get to the final? Probably not'.<\/p>\n

"Mostly great dancers don't do well on the show," he added.<\/p>\n

Craig's comments come as the show has been dogged by a "fix" row all season long, with some viewers believing Everybody's Talking About Jamie and Billy Elliott star Layton has an "advantage" over the other contestants on the series.<\/p>\n

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After being abused by trolls for weeks during his time in the competition, Layton spoke out and sent a message to his haters this week.<\/p>\n

He laughed: \u201cPeople are a little bit grumpy\u2026 I\u2019m like, cheer up!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a cheeky high kick, a flip and a lip! So just get into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI was aware of the fact it might have some noise but we\u2019ve been able to manage it and it\u2019s not defining my journey.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat\u2019s defining my journey is what we\u2019ve been able to do and who we\u2019ve been able to inspire, not people that are keyboard warriors. They\u2019re just a percentage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I am out on the streets, it\u2019s woah! I was shopping on Sunday in Selfridges doing my thing and the love, I tell you, is crazy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to look back on my Strictly journey and smile. I\u2019m not going to be thinking about no trolls, let\u2019s just say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Gormer Strictly pro\u00a0Robin Windsor recently waded into the war\u00a0and taken a stand for Layton.<\/p>\n

Writing on X, formerly\u00a0Twitter, Robin fumed: "STOP this hatred for @LaytonWilliams it\u2019s\u00a0BULLYING\u00a0ffs.<\/p>\n

"The poor guy sees all these comments everyone tags him in – how is that supposed to make him feel?"<\/p>\n

He then insisted the trolls should be "ashamed" as he issued another brutal put down.<\/p>\n

Robin, who appeared on the show between 2010 and 2013, continued: "You should all be ashamed of [yourselves]. What ever happened to be KIND?"<\/p>\n

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Layton retweeted his post, adding, "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.<\/p>\n

"Their fave couples would be SO embarrassed by their comments & so should they. They'll never dim my shine. Big love x."<\/p>\n

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