Amber Davies was reportedly considered too good to appear on Strictly Come Dancing and rejected twice in previous years.
Love Island star Amber Davies replaced Dani Dyer on the BBC series after Dani was forced to leave the show early due to an injury.
It was announced on Friday that she would be joining the cast, with Amber saying in a statement: ‘This has been the craziest 24 hours of my life.
‘I’ve watched Strictly with my family since I was younger and to now be part of the show is a dream come true.
‘I’m going to give it my all and I am sending Dani well wishes for a speedy recovery. I hope I do her proud.’
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Her involvement in the show has been somewhat contentious with The Sun, reporting that the other Strictly celebs were furious with Amber’s casting, believing her West End experience gives her an unfair advantage.
The Mail on Sunday has now revealed the West End star had previously met with BBC bosses, but was told she had too much dancing experience.
The outlet reported that executives were ‘concerned’ as they wanted celebrities who would ‘learn to dance in front of the viewers’ eyes’ rather than sign stars who were already trained.
A Strictly Spokesperson told Metro: ‘The current Strictly team have no record of this ever taking place.’
Amber first came to fame in Love Island in 2017, when she won the third series of the show with Kem Cetinay.
In 2019, she went on to star as Judy Bernly in 9 to 5: The Musical, before being cast in Bring It On: The Musical in 2021, Back to the Future: The Musical in 2022, and Pretty Woman in 2023.
She is currently playing Jordan Baker in the West End and European premiere of The Great Gatsby, and she has also just been cast as Elle Woods in the 2026 UK tour of Legally Blonde.
She has also appeared on Dancing on Ice, competing in season 16 of the show in 2024.
Strictly veteran Oti Mabuse defended Amber stepping in a TikTok video, after the star received backlash.
Having judged Davies on the 2024 series of Dancing on Ice, Oti said in a selfie-style video: ‘I just saw that Amber Davies is doing Strictly. Yes, I am so excited!
‘I definitely do think that Strictly, genuinely from the bottom of their heart, they tried to have a non-dance experience series, where very few of them have dance experience, and it just flipped and it just turned out that a few of them have it.
‘But the ones who have dance experience are genuinely the ones that set the standard, they’re the ones that create those incredible routines.
‘Like Amber, I know her obviously from Love Island, but even more getting to know her from Dancing On Ice… She’s amazing.
‘She was very nervous to be on ice because it was very scary, but on land, she’s going to slay, and it’s very exciting. I can’t wait. I think this is Nikita’s chance now to be amazing to create very creative choreography, new choreography.
‘This is his chance to maybe even make lifts that we haven’t seen. Definitely, I think those would be my favourites so far.’
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday, October 4.
Metro has reached out to the BBC and Amber Davies for comment.
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