Living in the Spotlight: Amber Davies on Strictly Come Dancing 2025
Amber Davies is the newest wildcard joining the Strictly Come Dancing 2025 ballroom, and she’s made a stunning entrance. If her name sounds familiar but you can’t quite place her, don’t worry—Amber’s career is just like her dance moves: fast, unpredictable, and full of twists, taking her from reality TV to the West End stage.
Who Is Amber Davies, Really?
Amber Davies is a West End musical star, TV personality, podcaster, and let’s be honest a bit of a pop-culture chameleon who got her big break winning Love Island back in 2017. (If you haven’t heard of her from that, perhaps you’ve seen her hoofing it on stage in “9 to 5: The Musical” or “Pretty Woman.” She was also in “The Great Gatsby” in 2025, playing the sharp and sassy Jordan Baker. Yes, she can dance, sing, act, and even podcast about it all on the side, because why not?)
She hails from Denbigh, North Wales, grew up the daughter of a plumber and a mental health nurse, trained in musical theatre thanks to a hard-won scholarship, and hustled her way onto screens and stages across the UK. Little fun fact: before fame, she gigged as a dancer in a London club and even sang backing vocals on The X Factor, which feels like the kind of “before they were famous” trivia Strictly fans eat up like popcorn.
On Instagram, @bbcstrictly posted a reel about Amber Davies, saying she’s ready to dance with Nikita Kuzmin on Strictly Come Dancing after performing on the West End stage
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPDztIiDTeV/?hl=en
Why Is Amber On Strictly in 2025?
This bit is almost too dramatic for reality TV. Amber Davies wasn’t in the original 2025 line-up. She stepped in at the absolute last minute, swapping in after Dani Dyer had to bow out with a fractured ankle just before the first live show talk about a show-must-go-on moment from the BBC.
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Dani Dyer fans, don’t despair! Amber has straight-up said she’s dancing “to make Dani proud.”
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Her new pro partner? Nikita Kuzmin, a strictly regular and, let’s be real, the man probably had to speed-learn all her steps in a caffeine-fueled blur.
Amber’s Strictly Debut – Quickstep or Quick Panic?
She and Nikita will be opening their Strictly campaign with a Waltz, and she’s called this “the craziest 24 hours” of her life. Amber’s first-ever performance isn’t just about impressing the judges; she’s also got to win over viewers who might still be rooting for Dani Dyer. No pressure at all, right?
There’s something deeply relatable about Amber’s excitement. She’s called it a “dream come true,” and honestly, for those of us who grew up dancing badly in front of the telly on Saturday nights, you totally get it. She watched Strictly with her family for years. Now, she’s the one in sequins worrying about the Paso Doble.
Theatre Kid at Heart (and On Stage)
Amber’s trajectory is genuinely interesting. After reality TV, she didn’t just “influence” on Instagram. She retrained, hammered the boards in “9 to 5: The Musical,” “Bring It On,” “Back to the Future: The Musical,” and, most recently, “Pretty Woman” and “The Great Gatsby.” There’s even talk she’ll play Elle Woods in a “Legally Blonde” tour next year. Yes, she’s booked and busy and unusually versatile for a so-called reality TV alum.
Every theatre fan has that story of Amber absolutely belting “Get Out and Stay Out” in “9 to 5” or holding her own in a duet with a West End veteran. That’s what makes her Strictly journey one to watch not just for the gossip factor, but for the pure, joyful, dance-manic enthusiasm.
Something a Bit More Personal
Maybe it’s her North Wales upbringing or just the scrappiness she brings to every new gig, but Amber feels like someone you could imagine meeting at a karaoke night, singing way too loud, and making friends in the bathroom queue. Her admission of chaos in her first 24 hours on Strictly? Genuinely funny and sweet but also a reminder that even reality TV winners and stage stars get the jitters when they’re about to waltz in front of millions.
Will Amber Davies Win Strictly? Here’s My Gut Feeling
Predicting strictly is a mug's game, honestly. But Amber isn’t just another “reality” contestant ticking a box. She’s been through TV competitions, toured the country in musicals, survived live T,V and most importantly knows how to win over a crowd.
If nothing else, she’ll make Strictly 2025 more fun. She’s got the energy, a bit of dance experience, and a backstory that’ll have both musical theatre buffs and Love Island fans alike rooting for her. It might be the best “Plan B” Strictly’s had in years.
Let’s see if those quick wits and even-quicker feet keep her in the running. But whatever happens, it’s going to be well worth watching.
