by Born in Manchester in 1994, Layton Williams is a musical theater performer and television actor. Moved from the Dicky Bird estate in Bury to the West End at the age of 12, Williams landed his first leading role in Billy Elliot the Musical. With a scholarship from the Italia Conti Academy of Theater Arts, he toured the UK in hit musicals Rent and Hairspray, as well as starring in the TV comedy Bad Education and the 2021 adaptation of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Williams was a finalist on Strictly Come Dancing 2023, and is currently appearing on his live tour.
This was taken in a local Bury shopping centre. The jumper would be a George special at Asda. I’m very cute, because butter wouldn’t melt.
I was a good child. Very energetic, always running around. The kind of person who wanted to play with everyone. My older brother and I were close in age, hip, and wore the same clothes. He was in this same sweater in his shopping center photo.
I have seven brothers and one sister. I lived with my mum during the week and would see my dad at the weekend. It was a very beautiful but confusing family dynamic. Me and one of my brothers don’t look alike. We have different fathers. Sometimes people wouldn’t believe we were siblings. I would have to say, “Er, yes. We share the same bedroom, and it’s very annoying.”
There wasn’t much representation for boys like me in the nineties. I was a chav, but inside was a diva desperate to burst out
I have always been an entertainer; the one who takes people’s spirits. My favorite thing about pre-professional performing was learning the dances from music videos. My only chance to see Wannabe by the Spice Girls was on MTV – no laptop to watch it on YouTube. If it came on, I had to be in the moment and learn as much of the choreography as I could before it ended, then wait another 24 hours to see it again. Then there were the Barbies. I would dress them up and do their hair. He was a very expressive little boy.
As I got older, I realized that I had to be a role model for myself, because there wasn’t much representation for boys like me in the nineties. I was a chav, but inside was a diva desperate to burst out. Instead of sparkly trousers, I was in my McKenzie tracksuit and acting as one of the lads on the estate. Children grow up pretending to be someone else as long as they can until they feel accepted. For the first ten years of my life I was not myself. I was wearing a slim jacket.
When I went for the role of Billy Elliot, I was the only one who seemed to be listening. It was a room full of white boys, and I hesitated to walk in. I didn’t used to be in spaces where I was the only black person. All aspects of life were in my estate, so the whole experience felt unfamiliar. Not only that, but I had no idea what an audition was and I had never done those dance steps before. I felt like I didn’t belong. But I did my own thing, my own moves. I faked it until I made it, and I got hired because of my talent.
I would have a party. I went out and lived the years I didn’t get when I felt oppressed
I wasn’t so wise that there was a hoo-ha that I was going to be the first black Billy or Jamie when I got those roles; I just did it. Looking back, I think it was kind of iconic. The best part was setting an example and encouraging people, young lads. There was a moment when I was listening for the boy who was going to take over from me in Jamie. They were doing open calls and on my way into the building I saw hundreds of kids queuing around the corner – white boys, black boys, people from all backgrounds. It made me very proud. If I hadn’t gotten this part, would that line have looked like it did? I’m not sure it would.
I moved to London when I got ththe role of Billy, and two years later some women named Maria and Val introduced me. They were a lesbian couple. Suddenly, I was living in a gay home and used to be me. I can’t say enough how beautiful that was. I lived with them for over ten years and only moved out a few years ago. There were no rules. I could dress myself and express whatever I wanted. I went from having to hide myself to living with this wonderful couple who were the perfect example of love. I would wear these little heels to cook my breakfast. Clop-clop-clopping around in the kitchen.
I also embraced the Topshop era. I would go there and buy anything pink. I was obsessed. Any piece I could get my hands on that would make me different, I would. I remember being dragged for wearing Converse and Ugg boots. Now all the lads are wearing them!
Along with Maria and Val, I started meeting people in London who showed me the life I could have one day. When I was training at the Italia Conti college in central London, I would be at GAY, the club in Soho, every Friday and Saturday night. I would have a party. I went out and lived the years I didn’t get when I felt oppressed. It was very good to see people who were out in the open, great and happy. That was the most important thing for me: happiness.
That said, I’m not always bam-bam-bam, Layton’s ready-to-kill method. As performers, especially as gay people, it’s important for people to know that we are three-dimensional. Of course there is a higher version of me. On Strictly I felt I had to be “on”. But I have a softer and more chilled side, a side that only my friends and family get to see.
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The concept of privacy has been very important recently. Testing has been done for the past six months [Williams received criticism online and in tabloids claiming his dancing background gave him an unfair advantage on Strictly]. A lot of people might have fallen for the amount of attention I was getting, and there were times when I was lying in bed, tears flowing, and thinking, “How am I going to make it manage this?” But I got to a point where I had to believe that as long as my family and friends accepted me, that was all that mattered.
My childhood prepared me too. I’m so used to being scrutinized. I led a whole West End company, the star of the show, by the age of 12. Then the TV jobs came along and I was in that machine. It wasn’t like I was Lindsay Lohan, but working in this industry from a young age gave me a thick skin. I am now ready for every occasion.
I used to think that my entry into entertainment was a form of escape from my own childhood. But I’ve since done a 360: I love being out of Bury. I went back recently and was waltzing down the estate. People stopped me and said, “We’re so proud of you, Bury boy!” It wasn’t like that when I was growing up, but now I can hold my case, walk with my head held high and say, “Come on, get a selfie, darling!”
