Layton Williams has said he is “really proud” that his time on Strictly Come Dancing has inspired others to feel like they do not have to “fit the norm”.
The stage and screen star, 29, and his professional partner Nikita Kuzmin are among the three couples who will compete on Saturday to win the glitterball trophy.
Throughout the series, Williams has impressed the audience and judges with his technical abilities and personal flair, picking up two perfect 40s along the way.
Speaking about some of the criticism he has received for having past dance experience from his musical theatre work, he said: “It has been hard, the pressure of feeling that you have to do well.
“This is the funny thing, no-one’s going hard and moaning and complaining when I’m rubbish…
“It’s only when you’re doing cute when people want to drag you down, which is fine and we’ve managed to get around that.
“The biggest inspiration really is the people that it is inspiring, what we’re managing to do as a duo, and using this as ammo to be like ‘we deserve to be here’.
“And being here is inspiring so many people to be themselves, to not necessarily feel like they have to fit the norm, and I feel like I’m really proud of that.
“That’s the biggest thing I’ll take from it, not what people’s opinions are of us, because at the end of the day, it’s not really my business either.
“I’ve managed to take it on the chin and take the positives from all of it.”
The Bad Education star also praised the Strictly costume department for helping him embrace his flamboyant side on the show.
“In order to have fun I really needed to be true to exactly how I felt,” he said.
“We’d always have discussions at the beginning of the week to say ‘What am I giving here’ because when I go out and about and sometimes I’m just looking cute and casual… but sometimes I’ll be in full glam…
“I don’t want to put that side of me away just because I’m on national TV, I want to celebrate that.”
Reflecting on why he signed up for the show, Williams revealed he did not set out to make a statement but wanted to learn ballroom and “have some fun”.
“Everything that’s come along with (it), like the stories that we get from these young people, it’s the most heart-warming things,” he added.
“It’s just a little ripple effect of love that has been spread across the UK.”
Kuzmin, who will dance in his first Strictly final at the weekend, also noted that while Williams may make the dances look “very easy”, the choreography is “really hard”.
“It’s nothing even similar technically or choreographically to anything he has done before so we are working real hard and I hope that people will just appreciate it,” he added.
On Saturday, the couple will perform three dances including their Argentine tango to Tattoo by Loreen, which they performed during the Blackpool special.
The judges have also picked for them to revisit their quickstep to Puttin’ On The Ritz by Gregory Porter from week two, which they received a score of 36 points for.
Williams and Kuzmin will round off their three performances with a show dance to Friend Like Me by Ne-Yo.
Asked how he feels about his prospects of lifting the trophy, Williams said: “I think to win, of course, would just be the most unbelievable achievement after everything we’ve managed to achieve on this show, it would be a massive icing on the cake.
“But I really do feel like getting to the final has been a full ‘I’ve completed it’ situation
“And no matter what happens, I feel like I want to leave with my head held high, I feel super proud.
“We’ve managed to do so much and it’s exceeded all my expectations. So I’m really proud no matter what happens.”
Williams and Kuzmin will face competition in the final from EastEnders star Bobby Brazier and his partner Dianne Buswell and former Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach and her partner Vito Coppola.
Strictly Come Dancing: The Final will air live on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.