Amber Davies has dismissed suggestions that she appeared on Love Island solely to advance her stage career. The 29-year-old actress, who won the ITV2 reality show in 2017 alongside Kem Cetinay, has spoken out against trolls who accuse her of using the programme as a stepping stone to the West End.
Davies, who trained in musical theatre at the Urdang Academy, said she joined Love Island because she was struggling to find work. Speaking on her Call To Stage podcast, she explained: 'A lot of people ask me, “Oh, did you do that just to get on the West End?” No, I did it because I couldn’t get a bloody job! I didn’t want to work at a bar and Love Island were giving me a free holiday for six weeks.'
Since her Love Island victory, Davies has landed roles in productions including 9 to 5, Bring It On: The Musical, Back to the Future, Pretty Woman: The Musical, and The Great Gatsby. She also reached the final of Strictly Come Dancing last year with professional partner Nikita Kuzmin. Currently, she is starring as Elle Woods in a UK tour of Legally Blonde: The Musical.
Davies admitted that while she expected some scrutiny after Love Island, she was unprepared for the level of trolling she has faced over her stage work. She said: 'What I wasn’t prepared for was the trolling that was going to come with Elle. I have worked... I’ve been in this industry, I’ve done lots of jobs and I’ve never experienced trolling within the musical theatre industry as much as I have during this time.'
She added that mean comments often forget the human behind them: 'Sometimes the opinions aren’t trolling but the opinions are mean, so it counts as trolling. I think sometimes when people leave mean comments, they forget that they are talking about an actual human being who is just working hard.'
