From (almost) the very beginning of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, there’s been one celebrity who has faced reams of scrutiny online. Well, there were two, but one left first. Tom Skinner, remember him?
While Mr Bosh was the most controversial of this year’s Strictly signings, Amber Davies came in a close second. And why? Did she attend a cosy BBQ with US vice-president JD Vance? Or weigh in on migrant hotels after calling London unsafe? No. Davies has done something that many Strictly purists see as far worse: she has a background in performing.
As the former Love Islander observed in an interview earlier this week, “it comes up every single year [that] there’s someone who is a performer, or in that realm” on Strictly. “I am doing my very best not to look and listen to anything,” she continued. “I’m blocking out that noise and just being present in the moment.” It’s a wise move given how overwhelming the chatter on social media can be. And while Davies seems to be enjoying the Strictly experience as a whole, it’s a shame this tired and overdone debate about dance training is casting a cloud over her time on the show.
From the way some people have complained, you’d think Davies had spent years in the Royal Ballet or perhaps enjoyed a stint with Burn the Floor, the dance company that counts numerous Strictly professionals among its alumni. Her experience amounts to this: she studied musical theatre at the Urdang Academy in London and has had multiple West End roles. She’s had no formal ballroom or Latin training.
Does her West End background mean she has experience of getting into character? Yes. Does she work with music daily, and have a solid foundation when it comes to moving to a beat? Also yes. But you don’t need to have seen many musicals or episodes of Strictly to know that treading the boards and stepping foot into the ballroom are worlds apart. Her West End experience hasn’t helped her footwork or posture, nor with the nerves that come with performing live on TV in front of millions.
Strictly needs contestants like Davies. There aren’t many people who could replace an injured star with just 24 hours’ notice. When it comes to performances, she pulls off dynamic, exciting and ambitious routines, and her natural flair means her pro partner Nikita Kuzmin can go all out with the choreography.
After Saturday’s routine – a unrelenting, lift-packed salsa that saw Kuzmin flip Davies over no less than four times (I counted) – judge Motsi Mabuse even admitted she would never dream of “doing anything like that”.
I love watching a novice blossom as much as the next person, but the first half of each series wouldn’t have its wow moments without a celeb or two who already know how to count their steps. And as each series goes on, it’s thrilling to see how those who were already landing eights and nines in the early weeks push themselves even further.
Davies’ score of 38 on Saturday was thoroughly well-deserved. If anything, it should have been higher. She’s been consistently fantastic, but thanks to a lack of viewer votes, has already landed in one dance-off she really didn’t deserve.
Now that we’re in the second half of the competition, I hope viewers can put their feelings about Davies’ “experience” aside and do as the judges do: rate her based solely on each week’s performance. Can you imagine what she and Kuzmin could pull off in the final? Let’s not deprive ourselves of that.
