AMBER Davies has revealed that her mum nearly had a 'heart attack' when she was unveiled as a contestant on Dancing on Ice.

The former Love Island winner, now West End star, who is from Denbigh, revealed that mum Susan was worried about the 'danger element' of skating. 

Speaking ahead of Dancing On Ice hitting screens this weekend, she said: "My mum nearly had a heart attack because obviously when you sign up to a skating show there is danger involved. And with me being on stage every day, I think there were just alarm bells in her head like, 'Oh my God, this could go terribly wrong.' But I just think if you have that narrative throughout life, you'll never do anything.

"I want to do this. I know my body well enough to look after myself mentally and physically. I keep sending my family videos, they can actually see from afar that I'm getting more confident. I think every day they're getting more and more confident with me being on the ice."

Denbighshire Free Press: Dancing on Ice 2024: Eddie, Lou, Ricky, Roxy, Amber, Miles, Adele, Greg, Claire, Ryan, Hannah and Ricky.Dancing on Ice 2024: Eddie, Lou, Ricky, Roxy, Amber, Miles, Adele, Greg, Claire, Ryan, Hannah and Ricky. (Image: PA)
Amber, who attended Ysgol Glan Clwyd, St Asaph, didn't think that an "opportunity like this" would present itself.

"I haven't been on telly for so many years, I thought that ship had sailed," Amber said. 

"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.' I don't feel like opportunities like this come around often, at my age, to learn a brand new skill from scratch.

"I love pushing my mind and pushing my body, and because I have trained in dancing, I was so intrigued to see if any of it’s the same. And actually, although the terminology in the language is the same, it's not the same on ice. It's not. I really feel like I'm learning a new skill."

Amber said, before her masterclass, she had only skated a "handful of times". 

"I got to about 14 where I was like, 'mum, I actually really do want to be on the stage.' And as soon as that decision was made, I wasn't allowed to go skiing," she said.

"I wasn't allowed to go ice skating just in case it jeopardised my training in musical theatre. One of my biggest memories from secondary school is all of my year going on a skiing trip, and I was the only one that didn't go, and I had to go and spend the week with the year below me and it was just like the biggest FOMO ever.

"Now I look back and my mum was doing it for the greater good."

Amber Davies has been paired with skating partner Simon Proulx-Senecal.

Asked if there is anyone she can turn to for advice about the show, she said she had texted her ex-boyfriend Kem Cetinay - who she won Love Island with in 2017.

"I text him a couple of times," she said 

"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.'

Amber, who is to star as lead Vivian Ward in the stage musical Pretty Woman, is taking four weeks off the 12 month tour.

She said: "I'm taking a break from Pretty Woman and I'll be solely focusing on Dancing on Ice."

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Talking about what Simon is like to work with, Amber, who is five-foot-two, said: "I feel like Simon and I are very, very similar. We're very emotional. We care a lot and we share the same language because he's an ice dancer. If he was just an instructor, I feel like we'd clash because we don't speak the same language but we really, really are on the same wavelength. And he's just so easy-going. He pushes me - he's cruel but he's kind. He's so mindful of my schedule but he'll always push me in every session that we've done because I feel like he knows I've got it in me. 

"I don't think I'd be doing the show if I wasn't a daredevil," she added.

"My mum wasn't surprised at all that I was doing it but I would love to get the headbanger out in the first week, I just don't know if they'll allow us because no one's done it. No one has done the headbanger in the first week. And I thought, 'If anyone's going to do it, it's going to be me!'"

On Sunday night, Amber will be supported by her boyfriend who she described as her "number one fan."

"He's amazing," she added.

"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.

"I'm going to push myself as hard as I can. I'd absolutely love to get to the end so I could do the Boléro. I'd love that more than anything but your fate's in the public's hands, really."