Hayley trained at Italia Conti, even though her parents, who were both performers themselves, were keen for her to pursue a more stable career. It was only when she persuaded them to let her audition for the West End production of the Goodbye Girl and got the job that she was allowed to attend Italia Conti and began to train properly.

Since then, her work has included being assistant choreographer for Take That's stadium tour, appearing in Chicago, Moving Out, Contact, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, five Royal Variety Performances and playing Tally in Granada's youth drama "24 Seven". She is excited about being in SYTYCD because it will be the biggest challenge of her career so far.