Dancing On Ice: Everything you need to know about Amber Davies, from Love Island to the West End

The new series of Dancing On Ice begins this weekend with a new set of celebrities ready to brave the ice and fight for the trophy. Holly Willoughby is set to make her TV comeback along with new co-host Stephen Mulhern and judges Jane Torvill, Christopher Dean, Oti Mabuse and Ashley Banjo.

Love Island winner turned West End star Amber Davies is the early favourite to win the show and is partnered with professional ice skater Simon Senecal. Amber Davies, 27, from Wales won season three of Love Island when she was coupled up with Kem Cetinay but the pair split four months after leaving the show.

It seems the former couple are still good friends as Amber has been in touch with Kem and he has given her some advice following his stint on the show in 2018 where he came fourth with  professional dance partner Alex Murphy. 

Amber Davies explained: “I text him [Kem Cetinay] a couple of times and he's given me some advice on bits and bobs but he did it so long ago. I'm surprised he even remembers! He just said, "It's all about confidence." I over complicate things in my mind and I'm a bit of a control freak. I can't just let go. Kem literally said to me, "You just need to relax." It's so hard to do that when you're on the ice because you're thinking about so many things. The more I get on the ice, the more relaxed I'm getting.”

What has Amber Davies been up to since winning Love Island?

Whilst in the Love Island villa Amber Davies often spoke about her dream to become an actress in the theatre. It seems dreams really do come true as Amber Davies is now a well known stage actress in London’s West End and has starred in many shows including 9 to 5: The Musical, Back to the Future: The Musical and the lead role in Pretty Woman. 

Why did you sign up to Dancing On Ice?

"I didn't think an opportunity like this would present itself, especially because I haven't been on telly for so many years.," she revealed. "I thought that ship had sailed. But when the producers pulled me in for a meeting, they solely recognised me as a musical theatre performer. And for me, I was like, "Oh, that's so lovely."

How do you think your nerves will compare to walking out in the Love Island villa all those years ago?

"I feel like as I get older, my nerves are getting worse because I care more. It's all about controlling your breathing and I need to ground myself. Nerves affect me quite a lot - I shake! My legs shake and that’s not good on the ice. That's what I'm a little bit worried about. Even on opening night in Pretty Woman, my lip was shaking a tiny bit. "

Are you ready to embrace the Lycra, sequins and spray tans?

"Yeah! I said the bigger, the better. The more sequins, the better. If there's feathers, stick them on! I want crazy hair, crazy makeup, things that I wouldn't do in my normal day-to-day life. I want to squeeze as much out of this experience as I possibly can because you don't know how long you're going to be in for. I want to get more dramatic and more wild as the weeks go along."

Have you got a whole host of people that are going to come down on a Sunday night to support you?

Y"es, my boyfriend [musical theatre actor Ben Joyce] will definitely be there. He's my number one fan. He's amazing. My mum will want to come but will want to watch through her hands! My dad will be there. My sister's actually on tour with Wicked, so it might be difficult to get her down. And my nana. I've got to get my nana, she's got to experience that." Dancing On Ice starts Sunday January 14 on ITV1 and ITVX from 6:30pm