Layton Williams of Strictly says the amount of "trolling" he has experienced is "overwhelming."

Layton Williams of Strictly says the amount of "trolling" he has experienced is "overwhelming."

When the musical theatre performer and professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin on Saturday did a rapid step, the judges gave him four nines.

Layton Williams, a participant on Strictly Come Dancing, claimed he has experienced "low key trolling" that has been "overwhelming."

A day after receiving four nines from the judges on the BBC show with professional dance partner Nikita Kuzmin, Williams said on Sunday that he has been receiving conflicting feedback from the general people.

Williams said on the social networking website X, which was once known as Twitter: "The words of love are overwhelming, but so is the subtle trolling.

Just like the other competitors, I'm here for pleasure.

I'm doing my best to deal with this while grinning and determined to conquer another day, but please remember to #BeKind #Strictly.

Williams published a picture of himself giving the peace sign beside the statement. He made no mention of the type of harassment he had experienced.

During the second live episode of the series, the musical theatre performer and actor, who played Stephen in BBC Three's Bad Education, danced to Puttin' On The Ritz.

Williams and Kuzmin, the only same-sex dance duo in the season, gave the final performance and won over all the judges, including Craig Revel Horwood, who praised Williams' "ridiculous" talent.

The couple received four judges' nines for a total of 36 points, the highest score of the competition thus far.

The experienced journalist Angela Rippon, the actress Amanda Abbington, the Paralympian Jody Cundy, and the Casualty actor Nigel Harman are among the celebrities competing on Strictly this year.

Kuzmin, a professional dancer, had written on his Instagram page on Saturday that he was "nervous" and "excited" for his performance with Williams that night.

Show day and first elimination Sunday," he wrote. I'm anxious, but I'm also eagerly anticipating tonight. Even more eager for you to see what week two's show has in store for all of us! @bbcstrictly Partner @laytonwilliams, go for it.

He posted a picture of himself making the peace sign to the camera and said, "The messages of love are overwhelming, but so is the low-key trolling," in his initial post.

Just like the other competitors, I'm here for pleasure. I'm doing my best to manage this with a grin and the will to live to fight another day, but please remember to #BeKind.

When the West End performer responded, Lorraine immediately said: "You are amazing - brightened us all up with your energy and excitement. Be xxxx extremely proud.

After responding with a grateful "Thanks Lorraine," he added a love heart and three kisses.

The male dancing pairing between Layton and Nikita Kuzmin, a 25-year-old professional, has raised some eyebrows among traditionalists, as he proved when he retweeted a message from one of his fans.

The remark called him out for "acting like a fairy" and said it was "not normal," but the stubborn celebrity reposted it and said he was "Team Fairy."

He acknowledged that the samba was "not easy" after his first dance this week but promised to remember to turn his feet out the next time.

He wrote to his more than 51,000 followers in an emotional tweet, "I'm proud of what we accomplished. Thank you to @kuzmin__nikita for being the finest instructor and to the judges for their comments.

Next week, we're going to change things up for you guys, he said.

However, the couple's quickstep to the tune of "Puttin' On The Ritz" had already won over the audience, earning a standing ovation from head judge Shirley Ballas among others.

Craig Revel-Horwood, a famously rigorous co-judge, called the performance "incredible," while Shirley called it the "dance of the night."

Despite recently awarding Love Island's Zara McDermott and her professional partner Graziano di Prima only three out of ten for their debut and six out of ten the following week, he still gave them high marks.

As they soared to the top of the scoreboard with scores of nine out of 10, Layton and Nikita were overjoyed.

Fans can't wait for Layton's widely anticipated follow-up dance, for which he has now pledged to provide an even more enthusiastic performance.