Amber Davies joins Strictly Come Dancing, hours before the premiere

The BBC show Strictly Come Dancing has welcomed Love Island UK winner Amber Davies as a last-minute addition to the show. The television star earlier posted a TikTok video where she was anticipating a call from Strictly Come Dancing, and it was just eight hours after that when Amber got a call from the dance show’s production team.

The actor has some dancing experience, as before this, Davies competed in the 16th season of Dancing on Ice. The Love Island winner made the big announcement in the latter part of the TikTok video, while saying, 

“Please be kind, and vote for me if you can. I’m doing this for Dani Dyer.”

Amber Davies is paired with Nikita Kuzmin in Strictly Come Dancing

While making the big announcement, Amber Davies posted a video saying, 

 “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. “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 already started rehearsals with her partner Nikita Kuzmin, and the two will dance a Waltz on the night’s first live show of the BBC series.

The dancing duo will be performing a waltz to Adele’s track, “When We Were Young”, during Saturday’s live broadcast.

Why did Dani Dyer quit Strictly Come Dancing? 

Dani Dyer was initially slated to take part in the hit BBC dancing show, but she broke her ankle ahead of the season premiere. Dyer was slated to dance with pro Nikita Kuzmin. 

The former Love Island winner later took to Instagram and informed that she thought she had rolled her foot, but it swelled up badly over the weekend, and after an MRI scan, it turns out she has fractured her ankle. She further stated, 

“Apparently, doing the quickstep on a fracture is not advisable and the doctors have said I am not allowed to dance, so I’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.”

However, Dani Dyer stated that she is going to miss dancing with Nikita but will, of course, "be watching closely and cheering all the couples" on the show. BBC Studios exec producer Sarah James also addressed Dyer's departure as she issued a statement saying, 

"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. We very much hope to welcome her back to the ballroom in the future.”

Watch the episodes of Strictly Come Dancing on catch-up on iPlayer. Stay tuned for more updates.