Strictly Come Dancing is meant to be about glitter, growth and joy — but this weekend, it also exposed a harsher side of the spotlight.
Professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin made an emotional on-air plea after his celebrity partner Amber Davies was subjected to intense online trolling following their place in the semi-final. And his words stopped many viewers in their tracks.
After delivering a standout Couple’s Choice routine to RAYE’s Fly Me to the Moon — their second performance of the night — the pair were rewarded with a near-perfect 40 from the judges, putting them second on the leaderboard. Earlier, their Tango had already earned an impressive 37.
But behind the scores and applause, Nikita revealed a very different reality.
Speaking backstage alongside host Claudia Winkleman, the 27-year-old turned to Amber and spoke with raw honesty.
“You’ve had so much hate,” he said quietly. “From the moment you joined, every single day.”
He went on to describe how, despite the criticism, Amber continued to arrive at training smiling — bringing positivity, kindness, and even ginger shots for him when he needed them.
The pair earned an impressive 40 points from judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke
Which placed them second on the leaderboard after scoring 37 points earlier in the show for their Tango
Following their performance, Nikita and Amber joined fellow contestants and host Claudia Winkleman, 53, backstage to reflect on their dance and Nikita used the moment to urge viewers to ‘be kind’ as he explained why Amber deserved to be in the final
Turning towards his dance partner Amber, he said: ‘You have had so much hate every single day from the moment you joined, You’ve had so much hate this week and yet, you came every single day into the training room with a big smile ignoring everybody’
“You care about me when I’m supposed to care about you,” he told her. “You are one of the kindest people I know.”
Then came the message aimed directly at viewers at home:
“Please be kind. It costs nothing. You don’t deserve any of this. You only deserve love.”
Amber, 29, has faced scrutiny from the start — partly because she is a trained dancer, and partly because she joined the competition as a last-minute replacement after Love Island star Dani Dyer was forced to withdraw through injury.
The backlash intensified last weekend when Amber and Nikita beat Lewis Cope and Katya Jones in the dance-off, securing their place in the semi-final — a decision that sparked a flood of critical comments online.
Earlier in the week, Amber admitted on It Takes Two that the reaction had begun to affect her.
“I’d like to think I have thick skin,” she said. “But this week has been tougher than usual.”
She also reminded viewers that she never expected to be part of the competition at all.
“I was never supposed to be here,” she said. “I’m just doing my best.”
Still, Amber was quick to acknowledge the support she has received, insisting the kindness outweighs the cruelty.
“The love is more overpowering than the hate,” she said. “If you’ve sent a kind message — thank you. It really means everything.”
Following the dance-off, she also shared a heartfelt message to Lewis Cope, calling him her “number one fan” and admitting it broke her heart to dance against a close friend.
As the competition heads toward its final stages, Nikita and Amber remain firmly in the mix — not just because of their scores, but because of the connection and trust they’ve built on the dancefloor.
And amid the sequins, rivalries and social media noise, Nikita’s simple request may be the one moment that lingers longest:
“Please be kind.”
