Lauren Oakley quits X as Amber Davies joins Strictly Come Dancing amid fan backlash

Lauren Oakley, a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, has quit the social media platform X ahead of the 2025 series, telling fans not to be mean. In a post ahead of the first live show, Oakley wrote: "Live show tomorrow. That’s me deleting X for now, have fun everyone. Enjoy the show. Don’t be mean. Everyone has feelings and everyone is trying their best. Think before you type. Love." The post came as Oakley, who is partnered with football manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, prepared to go into rehearsals with the show's first live episode scheduled for the weekend.

Amber Davies, a West End performer and trained dancer, was recruited to the show this year to replace Love Island star Dani Dyer, who withdrew after an ankle injury. Davies holds a Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre and Dance, studied dance at GCSE, trained at Danceworld Stage School, and later attended Urdang Academy for performing arts. She has worked as a dancer at Cirque Le Soir in London and was a contestant on ITV's Dancing On Ice last year, finishing fifth with pro skater Simon Proulx-Senecal. Some fans criticized the signing, posting that "A trained dancer! This show has lost the plot" and questioning whether the program should rely on established dancers rather than newcomers.

Oakley's absence is part of a wider discussion about the balance of experience on the Strictly lineup this year. The cast announcements have highlighted a number of celebrities with prior dance experience, including Lewis Cope, who trained in West End musical Billy Elliot and previously competed on Got To Dance with the Ruff Diamond troupe. Balvinder Sopal, known for EastEnders, said she had dabbled in Latin and ballroom dancing as a hobby. La Voix, the RuPaul's Drag Race alum, and Dani Dyer were also noted as part of the lineup; Dani Dyer was initially part of the cast before withdrawing due to the injury. The lineup for 2025 includes Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Alex Kingston, Balvinder Sopal, La Voix, Thomas Skinner, Vicky Pattison, Karen Carney, George Clark, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Ellie Goldstein, Chris Robshaw, Stefan Dennis, Ross King, Lewis Cope, and Amber Davies.