Amber Davies has hit back at claims that she used her appearance on Love Island to further her stage career. The 29-year-old actress, who won the ITV2 dating show in 2017 alongside then-boyfriend Kem Cetinay, has insisted that she only participated because she was unable to secure employment elsewhere.
From Reality TV to the West End
Before her rise to fame, Davies trained in musical theatre at the Urdang Academy in London and openly expressed her desire to perform in the West End while on the show. Following her victory, she was cast alongside Louise Redknapp in the London production of the Dolly Parton musical 9 to 5. She later appeared in a UK tour of Bring It On: The Musical and returned to the West End to star in Back to the Future. Her subsequent roles included Pretty Woman: The Musical and The Great Gatsby, before she reached the final of last year's Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, replacing Dani Dyer at the last minute.
Setting the Record Straight
Speaking on her Call To Stage podcast with fellow West End star Jacob Fowler, Davies addressed the persistent speculation. She said: “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. Luckily [it worked out]!”
Legally Blonde and Online Trolling
Davies is currently starring as Elle Woods in a UK tour of Legally Blonde: The Musical. The production faced early challenges due to cast illnesses, and Davies herself had to take time off earlier this year after a chest infection. During her absence, TikTok star Hannah Lowther took over the role, sparking rumours of a feud, which both actresses quickly denied. However, comparisons between their portrayals of the iconic character have dominated social media.
Davies admitted that while she expected scrutiny from her television career, she was unprepared for the level of online hate directed at her stage work. She said: “I know that going on Love Island put me in the spotlight. I didn’t know how much it was going to and I feel so grateful that 10 years on, I was on Strictly, and there’s so many amazing things that have happened to me. I definitely am used to it but I do have to prepare myself.”
She added: “The last thing I do want to speak out about - this has broke my heart in ways that I can’t even possibly imagine. When I was doing Strictly I’d had a meeting with my team and they prepared me for the trolling and the opinions. 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. What I wasn’t prepared for was the trolling that was going to come with Elle. I have worked... I am trying to find the words to explain this... 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.”
