Amber Davies West End feud with rising star threatening to replace her

Forgetting your steps while on stage in front of a packed house is every dancer’s worst nightmare, even more so for a West End leading lady.

For Strictly’s Amber Davies, however, a recent mishap while treading the boards has only intensified talk of a backstage feud on the touring production of Legally Blonde.

Because while the former Love Island winner may be billed as the musical’s star – performing as Elle Woods, the bubbly sorority girl turned legal eagle – insiders say the big buzz is about Amber’s understudy. For waiting in the wings seven nights a week is Hannah Lowther, a TikTok favourite who boasts 1.3million followers.

Hannah, who trained at the prestigious Italia Conti Academy (whose illustrious graduates also include Pixie Lott and Naomi Campbell), appears in the production as Margot, Elle’s friend, while also stepping in to the lead role whenever Amber is absent.

The buzz became only more intense on Wednesday night, when Amber was forced to pull out of a performance of the musical mid-show after falling ill, admitting she is suffering from burnout.

Audience members were quick to laud Hannah for stepping in, with one fan sharing a clip from the show and writing: ‘Hannah Lowther went from Margot to Elle mid show in act 1 this afternoon! She's a superhero!!!‘

The rivalry between the two actresses had been thrust into the spotlight from the very first  public preview performance.

Footage from the touring production appeared to show Amber briefly losing track of the choreography during a dance number before glancing across the stage at Hannah and copying her movements.

Within hours, the clip – filmed by an audience member – had circulated widely online, prompting Amber to address her fluffed routine in a TikTok video, describing the moment as ‘embarrassing’.

‘I forgot there was a dance break coming,’ she explained. ‘I feel like you can see me looking at Hannah and copy what she does with her hands.

‘So yeah, that’s embarrassing, that’s going to be in the public domain for the rest of my working career.’

Credit to Amber, 29, for owning her mistake but if she hoped a public confessional would bring the curtain down on the story, she was wrong.

Comparisons between her and Hannah – only intensified by the on-stage gaffe – have rumbled on, with an insider telling me the online reaction may have caused ‘tension’ behind the scenes.

‘Hannah is a million times better as Elle,’ a well-placed industry source who has seen both performers in the role tells me. ‘You can tell Amber has quite an ego about it and carries herself very much like the star of the show.

‘When Hannah goes on, the energy is completely different. She gives it ten times more energy than Amber ever has, and just has that sparkle that Amber lacks.’

According to the insider, the growing attention surrounding Hannah’s performances has become difficult for the show’s cast to ignore.

‘Everyone backstage is professional, but it would be fair to say the atmosphere between the two girls can be a bit tense at times,’ the source said. ‘When an “alternate” starts getting that much praise online, it inevitably becomes a talking point.’

Amber performs seven shows a week in the touring production, with Hannah covering the Thursday matinee.

But this week she had to step in on Thursday evening too, when Amber pulled out of a performance in Milton Keynes mid-show, confessing that her appearances in The Great Gatsby, her last-minute call-up to Strictly and her immediate start in Legally Blonde had affected her health.

Alongside a selfie, she posted two lengthy captions explaining that she was fending off illness and taking antibiotics, and would be off stage indefinitely.

The Instagram announcement read: ’Ok update: After talking to my doctor, being on antibiotics and trying to recover whilst doing shows is getting me and my health NOWHERE...

’Been working on this lingering illness for a month now so I’ll be off again from my beautiful Elle Woods... This is the last thing I want but there's no other way... I fear if I keep “pushing through“. I will be battling with this for longer than I need to be. I can't wait to be back on stage and feel like me again!!! Thank you – Amber x.’ 

She continued in another post: ’Also I keep having to remind myself I went from Gatsby, to a last min Strictly then to Elle so my body’s evidently fighting for its life... I also keep reminding myself that it’s ok to be poorly, we are human. Just a reminder there’s absolutely never a right time to be poorly in a musical theatre schedule.’

But while she did not address the mid-stage departure or Hannah in her posts, fans were quick to praise the understudy.

And indeed they did so last month when Amber was ill and forced to miss several performances while on antibiotics. When Hannah, 28, stepped in on that occasion the reaction online was immediate and brutal.

‘Hannah’s energy is unmatched,’ commented one user, while another said: ‘Amber gives us nothing while Hannah gives us everything.’

One TikTok user added: ‘I hate to be that guy... but Hannah should’ve been full-time Elle.’

Born in Basingstoke, Hannah rose to fame as the ‘Tesco TikToker’ during lockdown after filming herself singing and dancing in the aisles while working shifts at the supermarket.

And her online popularity soon translated to the stage. In 2021, she joined the cast of Heathers: The Musical at London’s Other Palace, appearing in the ensemble while also understudying the lead roles.

During the run, she became the only performer to play all three of the show’s leading characters, most notably stepping into the role of Heather Duke with just four hours’ notice, despite not being the official understudy.

All of which explains why many theatre fans believe Hannah to be the real star of the Legally Blonde tour.

And the debate will come as little surprise to those familiar with Amber’s reputation in showbusiness circles.

As the Daily Mail revealed during her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing last year, Amber has never been shy about expressing her frustrations when things have not gone her way.

‘She fits the mould of a leading lady in every sense – including the demands,’ a source said at the time. ‘When she’s missed out on opportunities in the past, she’s made her frustrations very clear.

‘You can imagine her dressing room on Saturday night. It would not have been a relaxing place. Amber is no stranger to a showbiz strop, whether it’s demanding cars to take her home from events or asking her team to get her on red carpets. She has been hard work.’

Indeed, when she waltzed on to Strictly’s dance floor with more than a decade of professional dance experience, Amber could hardly have been surprised when some viewers questioned whether she held an unfair advantage.

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After all, she had trained at London’s Urdang Academy, a leading conservatoire in dance, and already had a roster of West End hits to her name, including Back To The Future: The Musical and The Great Gatsby.

Sources told the Daily Mail at the time Amber had subsequently appealed to former show business acquaintances in a series of private, ‘passive-aggressive’ WhatsApp messages, urging them not to brief against her following criticism of her casting on the show.

‘Amber has been sending strange WhatsApps to people who she dumped when it suited her,’ one source said. ‘She wants them to back her now, but for years she didn’t want anything to do with them after she thought she could find better people to have around her.’

Indeed, after winning Love Island in 2017 alongside Kem Cetinay, 29, Amber quickly set about proving she was more than just another reality television star.

With the help of her staunchly loyal agent Martin Coutts (whom she ditched in 2021) they networked ‘like demons’, according to sources close to her.

‘She was after column inches and she set about networking in a way that was extremely impressive,’ one source said. ‘She made friends with journalists and was even a guest in a red top newspaper’s box for the Brit Awards one year.’

All of which makes Amber’s appearance on the WhatsOnStage Awards red carpet on Sunday all the more striking.

Flicking her dress for the photographers, she struck poses with the confidence of a seasoned leading lady. But when she reached the line of waiting journalists and reviewers, she had little interest in speaking to anyone.

While Amber once made a point of charming journalists as she worked her way up the showbusiness ladder, it seems that now she has reached the West End, she no longer feels quite the same need to stop for a chat.

And given the growing comparisons between her and the star waiting in the wings to replace her, the snub did not go unnoticed.