Craig Revel Horwood drops huge hint who he wants to win Strictly as he addresses ‘marking down’ popular star
CRAIG Revel Horwood gushed over Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin on Good Morning Britain - one day before the Strictly Come Dancing final.
The judge's face lit up when he recalled their dazzling Charleston to Fit As A Fiddle earlier on in the BBC series.
GMB hosts Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins quizzed Craig on the final couples which include the all-male pair, Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell and Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola.
It comes after viewer backlash over Layton's West End musical career, with Craig, 58, admitting the actor was more of an "equal" to his pro partner Nikita.
The star told GMB: “It was absolutely fantastic. I loved loved loved that Charleston. It was a dance you could put on stage.
"It was really really difficult. The flips and all of that. I mean some people can learn that but you're likely to get a broken ankle.
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"And it takes a partnership. What's so special about it is they're very very equal in ability and talent and actually Layton does push Nikta as well.
"They had sync problems before. Dancing in different rhythms. They managed in that Charleston to get it together."
Host Charlotte returned the conversaton to who could clinch the glitter ball trophy on Saturday night.
Craig admitted: “It could be any one of them.
“Bobby has come up the ranks. It’s great to see him come up against Ellie, who is spectacuar."
Despite high praise for Ellie, Craig confessed: “I haven’t given her a ten yet, and my scores don’t count tomorrow.
“I don’t really know why we have to score (in the final). It’s just to give the audience guidance.”
Not all fans were happy with Craig’s candid comments.
One said: “The Charleston like their paso was out of sync in parts & yet the judges ignored it. Meanwhile Ellie did faultless dances with no criticism & yet she didn't get 10's from Craig!”
Another tweeted: “@GMB Craig Revel Horwood described @LaytonWilliams and @Nikitakuzmin as being of equal talent.
"Well they shouldn't be as one is the professional dancer and the other 'isn't'. Has the BBC put two trained dancers together??”
But they go into the glittering showdown as only second favourite to win at 8/1, behind former Corrie star Ellie Leach on 1/9 and Bobby Brazier on 12/1.
It comes as Layton hit back at bullying fans after a backlash over his level of dance experience.
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West End star Layton, 29, has been flooded with hateful messages since signing up for the ballroom show in July.
His theatre experience in Everybody's Talking About Jamie and Billy Elliott has caused the BBC to face fix allegations.