Amber Davies has revealed she was left in tears during rehearsals for Strictly Come Dancing. She hit back at critics who claim she's had an unfair advantage thanks to her past dance experience.
The West End performer and former Love Island winner wasn't even supposed to be on this year's line-up. She was drafted in at the very last minute after Dani Dyer was forced to pull out.
Dani, 28, was left gutted after fracturing her ankle in a nasty fall just days before the first live show. She had no choice but to quit the competition before it even began.
How did Amber end up replacing Dani Dyer?
Producers called in Amber with less than 24 hours' notice. She stepped up to perform with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin in week one.
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Since then, the brunette beauty has quickly proved she's a force to be reckoned with on the dance floor.
On Saturday night (October 4), her 29th birthday, Amber scored a very fitting 29 out of 40 for her samba to Bam Bam by Ed Sheeran and Camila Cabello.
The next evening's results confirmed that Amber and Nikita were safely through to Movie Week.
What did Amber say about the backlash over her dance background?
Speaking on This Morning with Nikita on Wednesday (October 8), the actress addressed the backlash surrounding her professional background.
Amber has appeared in hit West End productions including The Great Gatsby and Back to the Future, but insisted that musical theatre training doesn't give her a leg up when it comes to Ballroom and Latin.
"I wanna say I think the ballroom and Latin community know that they are worlds apart from musical theatre," she explained.
"I do understand where the [argument] comes from because yes, I can perform. But there's a great example. 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 can imagine."
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She went on: "You're not allowed to take your foot off the floor, you have to drag your heel, you have to keep your frame, you have to look out…
"When you think about your head, you forget your feet, when you think about your feet… you have to engage every single muscle in your body and it's exhausting, it's exhausting, but I'm trying!"
How did Nikita respond to Amber's emotional confession?
Her dance partner Nikita was full of praise, calling Amber "the best student" he's ever had.
"Honestly, the best student I've ever had. She's so hardworking, genuinely, to me, it's mind blowing!" he gushed.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday, October 11.
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