Emotional Amber Davies thanks fans who have sent her ‘kind and positive’ messages amid Strictly backlash before breaking down in tears and insisting her fellow contestants deserve the win

Strictly Come Dancing star Amber Davies gave an emotional speech on Saturday night, thanking all the fans who sent her ‘kind and positive’ messages.

Despite reaching the final of the BBC’s latest series, the 29-year-old West End star has faced her share of backlash throughout the series due to her theatrical background.

But on Saturday, the former Love Islander thanked fans who sent kind messages on social media as she got emotional after her dance.

Speaking ahead of their performance at VT, dance partner Nikita Kuzmin said: ‘We had very good moments, but also very bad moments.’ He touched upon his comments by saying.

Amber, who survived three dance competitions, said: ‘I’m glad it happened in dance competitions because it was character building for me, like, ‘Okay, how am I going to deal with this? I needed to be kinder to myself.

‘What Strictly gave me was the space to be much more comfortable with myself.

The former Love Islander and West End star, 29, made the sweet comment while performing her second dance of the night with her professional dance partner Nikita Kuzmin.

‘It changed me completely. I loved every second of it. It truly was the greatest experience of my life.’

After her show dance, in which she received a total of 39 points from the jury, Claudia asked her: ‘What would you like to say to the people who support you?’

An emotional Amber responded: ‘It’s a crazy concept that people are voting for you and it’s such an overwhelming feeling that if you voted for us and supported us along the way, you’re the reason we’re here, so I want to thank you so much.’

She later added: ‘And if you’ve sent a kind or generous word on social media we greatly appreciate it too, so thank you.’

Amber also revealed that her best friend Natalie is one of the singers in Dave Archer’s band and she was lucky enough to enjoy the Strictly experience with her.

She explained: ‘I’m so lucky to be able to do this, but the fact that I was doing it with my best friend was sitting right behind me singing her heart out. I love you, Natalie Parris. Superstar!

Later in the show, for the third dance, Amber and Nikita danced the jive. This was the first week they got 40 points, and the dance Amber performed on her VT was the moment she realized ‘all her hard work had paid off’.

Amber and Nikita received a perfect 40 points after dancing their last dance to Tin Turner’s Proud Mary.

Despite reaching the final of the BBC’s latest series, Amber had already received her fair share of backlash for joining the cast after it was revealed she had a theater background, so performing for an audience wasn’t a new concept for her.

Speaking ahead of their performance on VT, Nikita talked about the comments when she said, “We had a lot of good moments, but we also had a lot of bad moments.”

After the show dance, Claudia asked if she had a message for those who supported her, and Amber replied: ‘If you’ve sent a generous message on social media, we really appreciate that too, so thank you.’

Amber also revealed that her best friend Natalie is one of the singers in Dave Archer’s band and she was lucky enough to enjoy the Strictly experience with her.

Later in the show, Amber and Nikita danced the jive for their third dance and received a perfect score of 40.

She burst into tears and said: ‘This was the best experience of my life and dancing with you [Nikita] It was the greatest honour.’

Amber also gave a very sweet response when asked about winning the show, saying her fellow contestants “deserved it” and that she guided them.

Karen Carney lifts the Glitterball Trophy on Saturday after emotional finale

Breaking into tears, she said: ‘This was the best experience of my life and it was the greatest honor to dance with you.’

Talking about the fact that she was a late replacement when Dani Dyer injured herself, she continued: ‘I’ve learned so much in four months and I wasn’t even supposed to be here, so I have a lot to thank Strictly for gaining that knowledge to continue my career.’

When Claudia asked her how it felt to win, Amber very emotionally replied: ‘Would it be nice to win, yes? You know what would be nicer? Because one of my friends is getting that sparkly ball. I love George, I love Karen.

‘I’m so lucky to have experienced this finale with these two real, good-hearted people.

‘I feel like I’ve already won just by being here. I wasn’t supposed to be here, you know, and being in the final is crazy. One of them deserves it and that’s what I’m pushing for.’

Karen Carney lifted the Glitterball Trophy on Saturday after an emotional finale.

When Tess and Claudia announced her win, Karen, 38, was left speechless as she embraced her professional partner Carlos.

He said: ‘I can’t believe it. I want to thank everyone who supported us and this wonderful gentleman who supported our journey. [Carlos].

‘We are a team and I couldn’t have done this without you but I honestly can’t believe it, this has been the greatest privilege and honor and I am literally lost for words. I’m so sorry.’