ben joyce

The Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’ has taken many victims, but musical theatre contestant Amber Davies is confident that she and Nikita will not be a part of it

For years, the Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’ has haunted the ballroom, blamed for break-ups, busted engagements, and headline-making scandals. But while the dancefloor has seen its fair share of heartbreak, Amber Davies is confident she won’t be a victim of the ‘curse’.

Musical theatre and former Love Island star Amber is currently paired up with professional dancer and one of Strictly’s favourites, Nikita Kuzmin. Amber, 29, has revealed that she is good friends with Nikita’s partner, model Lauren Jaine, and has also introduced her boyfriend Ben Joyce to Nikita and Lauren.

Amber said: “I’ve met Nikita’s girlfriend. I love her, she is so supportive, so easy-going. She met Ben and my sister too. It was lovely.”

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Lauren has also hit back at viewers who claimed that they wanted Amber and Nikita to succumb to the curse and said: “Please be respectful to the real-life partners and let them have a good experience of the show too.”

Amber and Nikita appear to be going from strength to strength in the competition and scored a whopping 35 for their American Smooth. They danced to the track Sixteen Going on Seventeen from The Sound of Music, which put them second on the leaderboard.

A source has since revealed that Amber is going to be taking the competition ‘one week at a time’ and that she ‘isn’t complacent’. The source also gave an insight into Amber’s thoughts on the ‘Strictly curse’.

They said to The Sun: “As for the curse, she’s madly in love with Ben and he is 100 per cent supportive of her. They are both performers and know how to block out the noise. They have zero doubt the curse won’t touch them. Amber and Lauren get on really well. They swapped numbers early on.”

Amber has been sharing some behind-the-scenes footage on her social media and revealed that her beau Ben has been watching her videos every day.

She said in a TikTok live video: “He is always like ‘let me see the tapes from today’. Sometimes Ben will make me bits and bobs for lunch. Contestants can stay in hotels but I don’t before a live show. I want to be in my own bed with my dog and my boyfriend.”

Amber didn’t even know she was going to be on Strictly until 48 hours before her first dance when she was whisked into the cast of the BBC show as a replacement for fellow Love Island winner Dani Dyer, who had sustained an injury in rehearsals before the first live show.

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.

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Love Island’s Amber Davies’ boyfriend Ben Joyce took to social media to reveal his thoughts on the busy star replacing Dani Dyer on Strictly Come Dancing this weekend

Former Love Island star Amber Davies has been announced as Dani Dyer’s replacement on Strictly Come Dancing after the mum of three was forced to pull out of the BBC show.

The former reality TV star and podcast host confirmed news that she has bowed out of the BBC dance show after fracturing her ankle while rehearsing with professional dance partner Nikita Kuzmin.

Now, Amber is set to take the dancefloor by storm and will be performing alongside Nikita this weekend. And her boyfriend Ben Joyce had a few choice words regarding her inclusion on this year’s celebrity line-up.

Taking to Instagram, the West-End star who met Amber in 2022, posted an image of the show’s glitterball. He captioned the post saying: “Does she ever stop?!! No she doesn’t!!” Amber has also appeared on Dancing On Ice.

Speaking of her latest venture, Amber said: “This has been the craziest 24 hours of my life. I’ve watched Strictly with my family since I was younger and to now be part of the show is a dream come true.”

She continued: “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.”

Earlier this week it was speculated that Waterloo Road star Tillie Armatey was in talks with BBC bosses in order to donne the legendary sequined dresses and strut her stuff on the dancefloor.

The rumour mill gathered even more momentum after she gave an ambiguous answer when asked to confirm speculation.

Attending the SHEIN pop up event earlier this week, the actress said: “It’s all sequins, sparkles and speculation at the moment but the Christmas special was very special for me. I had the best time.”

She added: “I would never say no to strictly. I will 100% clear my diary always, but I’m a great believer in leaving it to the universe and obviously the main priority is Dani having a speedy recovery!”

Tillie had previously been part of the show’s Christmas special but lost out on the glitterball trophy to former EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick.

Dani was forced to confirm her departure from the show with a brief video post on social media. She recently said: “I had a fall on Friday in rehearsals and landed funny. I thought I had rolled my foot but it swelled up badly over the weekend and after an MRI scan yesterday, it turns out I have fractured my ankle.”

She added: “Apparently doing the quickstep on a fracture is not advisable (!!) and the doctors have said I am not allowed to dance so l’ve had to pull out of the show. 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 all the couples on.”

Sarah James, Executive Producer for BBC Studios said: “Dani has brought so much passion, joy and enthusiasm to Strictly, and her partnership with Nikita was off to the most sensational start. Everyone on the show is incredibly sad that she’s no longer able to compete in this year’s series. We send her all our love and best wishes for a swift recovery, and we very much hope to welcome her back to the ballroom in the future.”

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