A star of Strictly Come Dancing has weighed in on the controversy surrounding ‘experienced’ celebrities on the dance competition.
This comes as debate rages on surrounding the inclusion of Love Island winner and theatre actress Amber Davies, who is partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin.
29-year-old Amber was brought onto the show as a replacement for Dani Dyer, following her drop-out due to injury.
However, some have questioned whether Amber might have an unfair advantage over her fellow contestants due to her West End experience.
Critics have included the wife of England Rugby star Chris Robshaw, who finished in second to last place last weekend.
Get personalised updates on Strictly
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
Chris’s professional dance partner, Nadiya Bychkova, has now joined the debate, saying that the show should be about ‘people who have never danced’ at its core.
Commenting on how amateur dancers tend to be overshadowed by those with stage experience, Nadiya said: ‘We often don’t see it because people who don’t have experience would sometimes leave the show earlier, which is really sad as there’s so much talent.
‘It’s nice for the audience to see that it’s possible to learn, but you do need to put in the work, which Chris is doing every day.
Speaking via The Sun, she continued: ‘In this situation, it’s not only Chris, it’s any contestant who didn’t have any experience, not just dance — it’s any kind of performance experience.’
Nadiya went on: ‘When you’re trained to be in the moment, to tell the story, you know how to show something — that helps a lot.
‘Chris is taking all the information on board — he just needs a few more weeks to get to the point.’
She added: ‘It’s the experience of knowing how to do that which is completely new and you can’t get overnight.’
Earlier this week, Chris’s wife, Camilla Kerslake, described the situation as ‘unfair.’
This came in response to former Love Islander Amber Gill, who had written on Instagram: ‘Unpopular opinion: I think having people with so much dance experience is unfair.’
Camilla then responded: ‘The experience differences are absolutely wild. Definitely.’
In 2019, Amber starred as Judy Bernly in 9 to 5: The Musical, before appearing 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 will play Elle Woods in the 2026 UK tour of Legally Blonde: The Musical.
She has also appeared on Dancing on Ice, competing in season 16 of the show in 2024.
As news of her casting broke, The Sun claimed that her fellow castmates were ‘furious’ at her inclusion, due to her perceived ‘advantage’ in the competition.
An unnamed source told the publication: ‘All the chatter is they think it’s unfair that the line-up now includes two sensational dancers who have substantial experience on stage.
Referencing Emmerdale star Lewis Cope – who previously starred in Billy Elliot: The Musical – they continued: ‘Having one celeb with that kind of background is one thing, but having two is seen as unfair, particularly if they both ended up in the final.’
However, a spokesperson for Strictly told Metro.co.uk: We’ve been shown absolutely no evidence to suggest that this story is true, or that the anonymous quote it is based on is from anyone connected to the series.’
Amber addressed the issue herself during an appearance on spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two, when questioned by host Fleur East.
Fleur dove straight in, asking: So you’ve obviously had some dance experience before but you’ve never done Latin or ballroom. How much do you think your musicality helped you through the routine?’
To which Amber responded: ‘Musicality helped a lot. I can hear the music, I can feel the music but it was the technical aspect, where we didn’t have time to think about heel and toe.’
She then admitted that she was finding the whole experience harder than she had anticipated.
‘Ballroom and Latin are worlds apart from what I’ve experienced on a west end stage,’ she told Fleur.
‘It’s a completely different technique and it’s a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.’
Meanwhile, Strictly veteran Oti Mabuse has defended Amber, revealing via Tik Tok: ‘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.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday, October 11.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.