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Amber Davies left ‘in tears’ during Strictly rehearsals as she hits back at critics(Image: ITV)

Amber Davies has been left ‘in tears’ during Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals. The musical theatre star, 29, was whisked into the cast of the BBC Latin and ballroom show at just 48 hours notice to act as a replacement for fellow Love Island winner Dani Dyer, who had sustained an injury in rehearsals before the first live show.

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The TV star found fame as the winner of ITV2’s dating show in 2017 but had previously trained at the prestigious London drama school Urdang and used her platform to launch a career in musical theatre. She starred in the leading role of the Pretty Woman: The Musical UK tour and more recently starred in the West End production of The Great Gatsby.

Just days before she was announced as Dani’s replacement, it was revealed that she will be taking on the tough role of Elle Woods, the part originally made famous by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 classic, in a new UK tour of Legally Blonde. She will be following in the footsteps of industry peers like Lucie Jones, Sheridan Smith and former Coronation Street star Faye Brookes with the part, but instantly faced backlash from fans of the dancing show, who took issue with her wealth of experience.

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During an appearance on This Morning alongside her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, with whom she topped the leader board last week, Amber insisted that the skills needed are two different disciplines and she has been left struggling in rehearsals(Image: ITV)

During an appearance on Wednesday’s This Morning alongside her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, with whom she topped the leader board last week, Amber insisted that the skills needed are two different disciplines and she has been left struggling in rehearsals.

She told hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard: “I wanna say I think the ballroom and Latin community know that they are worlds apart from musical theatre.

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“I do understand where the [argument] comes from because yes, I can perform. Yesterday, we were doing our American Smooth and even just walking left, right, left, right brought me to tears because it’s so much more complicated than you imagine.”

The former Dancing on Ice star then insisted that she never expected a chance like this to come along and she is going to ‘work hard’ regardless. She added: “I’ve been given this opportunity, it came so quickly, I never thought I’d experience Strictly Come Dancing, so I am going to put in the work.” Nikita, who has been on the show since 2021, Nikita insisted that Amber is the ‘best student’ he has ever had.

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Last week, Amber and Nikita topped the leader board on her birthday(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA)

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Viewers at home still issued their opinion towards Amber, with one writing on X: “She’s trained in musical Theatre. She’s as close to a professional as you can get. The show has lost its way!” But others were more positive, and were pleased to see Nikita reuniting with his former dance partner Tilly Ramsay, who had been on the programme to present a cooking segment, and was ‘manifesting’ success for the couple.

They wrote: “Full circle moment on this morning with a Tilly x nikita reunion & nikita saying how Cynthia Erivo gave him & tills their first 40 & now Cynthia is back whilst nikita dancers with Amber his 5th celeb. To early to be Manifesting that ten from her already??”

This is not the first time Amber has had to defend herself against the Strictly Come Dancing fanbase. Upon the announcement, she insisted that despite her experience, she’s a novice when it comes to waltzing around a dance floor.

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Speaking on her Call To Stage podcast, she admitted: “I feel like I know they will be like, ‘She’s trained.'”

“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. I mean, I’ll give it my all.” She pleaded: “Please vote for me. Please, I beg.”