Former Strictly Come Dancing celebrity Layton Williams has issued a stark public warning after surviving a terrifying attempted robbery in central London. The 31-year-old actor, best known for Bad Education, recounted the frightening incident on his social media, urging the public to stay vigilant.
A late-night encounter turns sinister
The alarming event unfolded after Williams had finished a late-night filming session. He was helping a female colleague to her vehicle when he first noticed a man acting suspiciously. "This guy was just like, looking at me a lot," Williams recalled. "He was looking at me in a way that was just like, it was fishy."
After getting into the back of his pre-booked taxi, the situation escalated. As the driver approached the car, the same man came over, pretending to alert them to a problem. "Excuse me, sir. You dropped something on the floor, saying that there’s something under the wheel or whatever," Williams remembered. The star believes this was a deliberate ploy to distract the driver.
A coordinated theft operation
Feeling that something was wrong, Williams looked behind him and spotted a second man. He described a coordinated effort to steal from the vehicle's boot. "There’s two of them, and my other guy is crouched at the back of the boot, like stopping it from closing, and is trying to lift it up," he explained.
In a moment of defiance, Williams decided to confront the pair directly. He humorously commented to his followers: "Girl, not on my watch. You ain’t taking my laptop." While he understood that stolen items could be replaced, he was shocked by the audacity of the thieves in the busy capital. "You think you're just gonna open up the boot and run away with my things," he said, noting the weight of the items they targeted.
A warning to stay safe
Despite his successful intervention, Williams was quick to add a crucial safety disclaimer for his fans. He acknowledged that confronting potential thieves is risky. "I know you should probably just stay put in those situations and just stay safe," he advised, emphasising that personal security should always come first.
The incident, which occurred after filming in December 2025, has prompted the star to highlight the dangers that can exist even in bustling parts of the city. Williams, who was partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin on the 2023 series of Strictly, shared his story as a cautionary tale for others travelling late at night.
