Actor, podcaster and West End star Amber Davies has just become Strictly Come Dancing 2025’s latest contestant. The exciting news comes just days after Dani Dyer was forced to pull out of the competition after fracturing her ankle before reaching the first of the live shows.
Amber will be dancing with Dani’s Strictly partner, Nikita Kuzmin, who has been part of the pro line-up since 2021. Speaking about joining the series at this stage, Amber described it as the "craziest 24 hours" of her life and expressed her wish to make Dani "proud" dancing in her stead.
"I’ve watched Strictly with my family since I was younger and to now be part of the show is a dream come true," Amber declared. "I’m going to give it my all and I am sending Dani well wishes for a speedy recovery. I hope I do her proud."
Amber has just begun rehearsing with Nikita and the pair will kick off their Strictly journey together with a Waltz on 27th September. For those who aren’t quite sure where they recognise Amber Davies from, the star has had quite the illustrious and varied career so far.
She first rose to fame when she and Kem Cetinay won ITV’s Love Island in 2017 and she’s gone on to act in a number of high-profile projects. Amber has had lead roles in theatre productions, including 9 to 5: The Musical, Pretty Woman and The Great Gatsby.
She’s also been recently announced as Elle Woods in the new Legally Blonde musical tour set to start in 2026, making Amber one very busy woman. As well as appearing on stage, she’s presenting the documentary Amber and Dolly: 9 to 5 which saw her fly to Nashville where she met and interviewed Dolly Parton.
Amber also chats with stars from the world of theatre on her podcast, Call to Stage, and she’s no stranger to a TV competition format thanks to her stint on the sixteenth series of Dancing on Ice. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how she gets on now she’s swapping the stage and ice rink for the Strictly ballroom.
Her announcement as a new cast member quickly followed the news that Dani Dyer had to withdraw from the show. Dani was set to start the live shows with the famously fast-faced Quickstep, but after she suffered a fall in rehearsals and "landed funny" an MRI revealed that she had fractured her ankle.
She explained that doctors had said she’s "not allowed to dance" with her injury, adding, "To say I’m heartbroken is the biggest understatement. I am so going to miss dancing with Nikita but will of course be watching closely and cheering the couples on."
No doubt Dani will be excitedly following Nikita and Amber’s progress on Strictly as she recovers and she might get another shot at being on the BBC show in another future series. This could supposedly be on the cards, with the Daily Mail reporting that BBC bosses confirmed in a statement that the door is left open for her, saying they "hope to welcome her back" in the future.
Meanwhile, Nikita expressed his hope for this in his statement following Dani’s exit, writing, “It breaks my heart knowing how excited you were to do your absolute best on the show! Hopefully we can pick up next year”.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 27th September at 6:55pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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