Amber Davies, the Love Island star and musical theatre actress, has defended her West End background after facing accusations of having an unfair advantage on Strictly Come Dancing. The 28-year-old joined the show as a last-minute replacement for Dani Dyer, who fractured her ankle during rehearsals.
Despite her professional diploma in musical theatre and experience in the West End, Davies insists she is a novice when it comes to ballroom Latin dancing. “I feel like I know they will be like, ‘She’s trained’,” she said. “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.”
Davies, who performed with professional partner Nikita Kuzmin on Saturday night, previously met with BBC bosses for Strictly but was told she had too much dance experience. She was drafted in after Dani Dyer was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Speaking on her Call To Stage podcast, Davies recalled the late phone call from her agent about the opportunity. “It’s 9.30, I see him pop up on my phone and I’m like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ And he’s like, ‘Hi, Amber, are you available for a meeting tomorrow at 10 in the morning?’ He said to potentially replace Dani Dyer on Strictly. I said, excuse me? I said, pardon? I said, please repeat that.”
Davies, who won Love Island at age 20, also recently landed the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical. She described the timing of Strictly as “iconic” as she approaches her 30th birthday. “I had a full on wobble, and I was like, I was just thinking about all of my 20s and like winning Love Island at 20 years old.”
