Amber Davies has reignited the Strictly Come Dancing debate over whether she is simply too well trained to be competing, after viewers noticed striking similarities between her Charleston and a routine she previously performed on the West End.
Since signing up to the BBC show, the 29-year-old actress has repeatedly insisted that her background in musical theatre gives her little advantage, arguing that ballroom and Latin are entirely new disciplines to her. Only last week, she hit back at critics by saying viewers had “no idea” what she puts her “mind and body through”, adding that constant comparisons with professional dancers were deeply unfair.
However, footage has now emerged suggesting that her Charleston to Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat from Guys and Dolls closely mirrors choreography she performed earlier this year while starring in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum.
The routine earned Amber a perfect score of four tens from the judges, but video clips from a West End Live performance in Trafalgar Square on June 21 show her executing what appears to be the same sequence of steps and movements. In The Great Gatsby’s New Money number, Amber led the cast dressed in a dark green bodice and black satin trousers – a performance that many fans say looks almost identical to her Strictly dance.
Amber played Jordan Baker in the West End production from April to September and has built an extensive stage résumé, including roles in 9 To 5, Back To The Future and Pretty Woman.
The discovery has fuelled further questions about fairness and choreography on the show, where routines are traditionally created by the professional partners. One insider claimed Amber had “continually complained” about criticism of her training, adding that the footage made it difficult to deny she was drawing on professional-level experience.
Amber was drafted into Strictly as a late replacement after Dani Dyer withdrew with a fractured ankle, and it soon emerged that she had trained at the prestigious Urdang Academy, specialising in musical theatre and dance. She had reportedly been turned down twice in the past for being overqualified.
Responding to the growing backlash last week, Amber wrote on Instagram that she was “really just trying my best” and suggested “the meanies are out to play”.
A BBC spokesperson defended the performance, insisting that Amber’s Charleston was “a new routine choreographed for Strictly Come Dancing” and that it only “briefly paid tribute to The Great Gatsby as a nod to Musicals Week”.
