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Amber Davies has revealed her boyfriend Ben Joyce is unfazed by speculation about her close bond with her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin.
The former Love Island winner, 29, was pictured sharing a warm embrace with Ukrainian professional Nikita, 27, on Friday during a break from rehearsals.
While sources claimed that Amber and Nikita’s chemistry has set tongues wagging behind the scenes, the performer has insisted she won’t fall victim to the show’s famous curse.
Amber insisted that Ben is ‘not a****d’ about talk of the famous Strictly curse, and said she’s also close to Nikita’s girlfriend Lauren Jaine.
She said: ‘The only good thing is Ben is not a****.
‘So I feel like I can brush it off as it is not affecting us in any way which is nice. I mean he is horizontal Ben.’
Amber went on to tell The Sun: ‘I love Lauren Nikita’s girlfriend so much. I text her all the time. All day, every day. Lauren spends more time with me than her fella. She actually came into my dressing room before she went to see Nikita [the other day]. I have stolen her.’
Amber previously told the Daily Mail that she and Nikita had quickly struck up a close bond, having only hours to learn their first routine together when the actress replaced Dani Dyer at the last minute following her ankle injury.
The star avoided a shock early exit during Sunday’s results show, when all four judges chose to keep Amber in the competition over Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, the latest celebrity to leave the series.
In the wake of her intimate snaps with Nikita, sources close to Amber reacted to the images, telling Daily Mail that any suggestion she has fallen victim to the show’s ‘curse’ is nonsense.
A source close to Amber told the Daily Mail: ‘Everyone thought Amber would be panicked and worried about being in the dance-off, but that’s not the case.
‘She was not surprised to be there at all. With Strictly it’s an entertainment show, it’s anyone’s game. She actually had a feeling on Saturday that it would be her time in the bottom two.
‘But she’s going into this week feeling positive. There’s no concern or panic from her at all, and she’s still really enjoying her Strictly experience.
‘For Amber, it has never been about winning the show, she’s working hard, she’s humbled, and she feels particularly grateful for all the support she is receiving from the theatre community.’
They added: ‘It’s ridiculous for anyone to believe there’s anything going on between Amber and Nikita.
‘The pictures didn’t affect them at all because they know the truth. Amber was unfazed by it.’
Nikita, who is in a relationship with model Lauren, was photographed kissing Amber on the head following reports the pair have ‘sizzling chemistry.’
The pictures were taken last Friday after the duo spent more than eight hours training the Cha Cha Cha at a studio in north London.
The photographs came after the pair performed a steamy Argentine Tango and almost locked lips, prompting many viewers to take to social media to question whether the infamous ‘Strictly curse’ had struck again.
But the pair, who are both in long-term relationships, have laughed off suggestions of a romance, with Amber having only recently bought a home with her partner, Ben.
After receiving the fewest votes from the public for their Ariana Grande-themed performance on Saturday, Amber shared a video on Instagram, saying she felt like ‘rubbish’ following the dance-off.
She captioned the clip: ‘A gut-wrenching evening in the dance-off, especially dancing against two of the most amazing people I’ve met on this experience.
‘I feel extremely lucky and thankful to be able to experience Halloween week on Strictly, but there will be two very special people missed.
‘If you voted for us, really, really, thank you. I guess this week we aim for a comeback week?’
She added: ‘Nikita, thank you for holding my extremely shaky hands extra tight.’
Amber said joining Strictly at the last minute has accelerated the close bond she shares with dance partner Nikita.
Speaking about his advice before the first live show, Amber explained: ‘Nikita said to me, look into my eyes the entire time. We had only known each other 24 hours.
‘It happened so quickly, it was like we skipped a million steps and had to immediately trust each other and bond and luckily, we are basically a male and female version of each other, and we clicked straight away.’
Amber and Nikita have also made an effort to get to know each other’s partners.
Over the weekend, Amber posed with Nikita’s girlfriend as the pair laughed about their extreme height difference.
