Amber Davies has admitted that she was ‘in tears’ during Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals as she hit back at those who have criticised her over her dance experience.
Amber Davies was left in tears during Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals after being drafted into the BBC Latin and ballroom show on just 48 hours’ notice. The 29-year-old musical theatre star stepped in as a replacement for fellow Love Island winner Dani Dyer, who was injured during rehearsals ahead of the first live show.
Davies rose to fame as the winner of ITV2’s dating show in 2017 but had previously trained at the prestigious London drama school Urdang. She has since built a career in musical theatre, starring in the lead role of Pretty Woman: The Musical UK tour and more recently appearing in the West End production of The Great Gatsby.
Just days before being announced as Dani’s replacement, it was revealed that Davies would take on the challenging role of Elle Woods in the UK tour of Legally Blonde, a part originally made famous by Reese Witherspoon. Following in the footsteps of performers like Lucie Jones, Sheridan Smith, and Faye Brookes, she faced immediate backlash from Strictly fans who criticized her extensive stage experience.
During a Wednesday appearance on This Morning with her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, with whom she topped the leaderboard last week, Amber Davies explained that ballroom and Latin dancing are completely different disciplines from musical theatre, leaving her struggling in rehearsals.
She told hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, “I want to say I think the ballroom and Latin community know that they are worlds apart from musical theatre. I do understand where the argument comes from because yes, I can perform. Yesterday, we were doing our American Smooth and even just walking left, right, left, right brought me to tears because it’s so much more complicated than you imagine.”
The former Dancing on Ice star emphasized that she never expected this opportunity and is determined to work hard. “I’ve been given this chance, it came so quickly, I never thought I’d experience Strictly Come Dancing, so I am going to put in the work,” she said.
Nikita, who has been on the show since 2021, praised Amber, calling her the “best student” he has ever had.
Viewers at home shared mixed reactions to Amber Davies, with one posting on X, “She’s trained in musical theatre. She’s as close to a professional as you can get. The show has lost its way!”
Others were more positive, enjoying the reunion of Nikita Kuzmin with his former dance partner Tilly Ramsay, who appeared on the programme to present a cooking segment and was “manifesting” success for the couple. One fan wrote, “Full circle moment on This Morning with a Tilly x Nikita reunion & Nikita saying how Cynthia Erivo gave him & Tilly their first 40, and now Cynthia is back while Nikita dances with Amber, his 5th celeb. Too early to be manifesting that ten from her already??”
This isn’t the first time Amber has had to defend herself with Strictly fans. Upon her announcement, she stressed that despite her extensive performance experience, she is still a novice when it comes to waltzing and ballroom dancing.
Speaking on her Call To Stage podcast, she admitted: “I feel like I know they will be like, ‘She’s trained.'”
“Yes, I did train in musical theatre, however, I am a beginner when it comes to ballroom Latin dancing. So I feel like I will be starting from scratch. I mean, I’ll give it my all.” She pleaded: “Please vote for me. Please, I beg.”