From Love Island to West End darling: How Amber Davies went from the raunchiest show on TV to a more wholesome image as she prepares to take to the dance floor on Strictly

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Amber Davies will be joining the cast of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, taking the place of Dani Dyer.

The BBC show is a genuinely heartwarming program, enjoyed by viewers of all ages – it’s a favorite for millions.

This comes just a year after Amber competed on the family-friendly show Dancing On Ice, where she placed fifth.

But the West End performer’s path to fame wasn’t always so squeaky clean.

Amber, who is 28 and from Denbigh, Wales, first became well-known at age 20 when she appeared on the third season of Love Island in 2017.

The show follows a group of attractive young singles living together in a villa in Majorca, where they participate in daring challenges and experience romantic connections.

While on the show, Amber developed a romantic relationship with Kem Cetinary, and sources say they were intimate on multiple occasions.

Sources say the couple became intimate around a dozen times while filming, but only three of those moments were shown on television to avoid losing viewers.

After Amber and Kem won the show and shared the £50,000 prize money, Amber openly discussed their intimate relationship.

She told The Sun that they make an effort to see each other daily, and their intimate life is just as good as it was on the show. She actually believes they’re even more adventurous now that they don’t have cameras around.

The star also released her own lingerie line with brand Boux Avenue. 

After winning Love Island two years prior, Amber started to shift her public image following her first role in a West End musical, 9 To 5.

Since then, she’s been working as a professional actress, performing in stage adaptations of the musicals *Bring It On* and *Back to the Future*.

She recently played a role in a stage version of The Great Gatsby and will star as Elle Woods in the 2026 UK tour of Legally Blonde.

On joining Strictly, Amber said: ‘This has been the craziest 24 hours of my life.’

She shared that she’s been watching Strictly Come Dancing with her family for years, and joining the show as a contestant is a lifelong dream.

I’m determined to give my best effort, and I’m wishing Dani a quick recovery. I hope I can make her proud.

Amber and Nikita have begun practicing their Waltz, which they’ll perform on Saturday night.

The announcement follows Dani’s departure from this year’s competition due to injury.

BBC officials have said they’d like Dani to return to the show next year, acknowledging she’s understandably upset and leaving the possibility open for her to come back to dancing.

Dani is the second celebrity to drop out of this year’s show before it even begins. Earlier, Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn had to withdraw because of a health issue.

Dani, a popular contestant on the show, had to withdraw on Tuesday after breaking her ankle during practice last Friday, according to the Daily Mail.

Dani explained that she injured her ankle during rehearsals on Friday. Initially, she thought it was just a sprain, but it became severely swollen over the weekend. An MRI scan revealed she actually had a fractured ankle.

It turns out dancing the quickstep with a broken bone wasn’t a good idea! The doctors have told me I can’t dance, so unfortunately I’ve had to withdraw from the show.

I’m truly devastated. I’ll really miss dancing with Nikita, but I’ll definitely be watching and supporting all the other couples!

The accident occurred before Dani even got to perform one routine.

Sarah James, an Executive Producer at BBC Studios, praised Dani’s energy and excitement on Strictly, noting that her partnership with Nikita had begun incredibly well.

The entire team is heartbroken that she can’t continue on the show this year. We’re sending her our love and wishing her a quick recovery, and we hope she’ll be back dancing with us soon.

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2025-09-26 17:51