Reality TV star and West End performer Amber Davies has spoken candidly about the barrage of 'nasty comments' she received during her time on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing last year.
The Backlash Against a Theatrical Background
The 29-year-old Welsh star joined the competition as a last-minute replacement for the injured Dani Dyer. Despite her dance training, Amber faced significant backlash from some viewers due to her professional background in musical theatre.
Amber trained at the prestigious Urdang performing arts university on a full scholarship before landing her first professional role in the West End production of 9 to 5, produced by Dolly Parton. She has since starred in six major musicals.
Reflecting on the criticism to The Guardian, Amber said, 'Well, I'm a woman. I am ambitious. And [people think] confidence comes across as being stuck-up. But if you're too sweet, you're fake, so you can't do anything right.'
Surviving the Dance-Off and Addressing the Hate
The trolling intensified significantly when Amber survived a dance-off against actor Lewis Cope. The vitriol was so severe that her professional partner, Nikita Kuzmin, was forced to publicly address the hate on the show, telling her, 'you have had so much hate, every single day'.
Amber believes online trolling has worsened since she first found fame on Love Island in 2017, where she won the series with her then-partner Kem Cetinay. She noted a surprising source for the abuse during Strictly.
'With TikTok, when people jump on a bandwagon, they go for it,' she observed. 'But I feel like the nasty comments I was getting [on Strictly] weren’t actually coming from the younger audience, they came from the older audience.'
A Life-Changing Experience and New Beginnings
Despite the challenges, Amber, who endured three dance-offs before reaching the grand final in December, says the experience was transformative. The contest 'completely changed her', teaching her resilience and self-kindness.
'Being in the dance offs, I'm kind of glad that happened because it was character building for me,' she explained. 'I've had to be kinder to myself... What Strictly's given me is the space to be a lot more comfortable in myself.'
She expressed immense gratitude to the public who voted for her, calling the support 'a wild concept' and 'overwhelming'. Amber also highlighted the unique opportunity her late entry provided: 'I have learned so much in four months and I wasn't even supposed to be here.'
Now, Amber is channelling her renewed confidence into her next major role: starring as Elle Woods in the West End production of Legally Blonde. She summarised her Strictly journey as 'the greatest experience of my life'.
