Strictly Come Dancing is meant to be a celebration of glitter, growth, and joy — but this weekend, it also revealed the harsher reality of life under the spotlight.
Professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin moved viewers to silence with an emotional on-air plea after revealing the scale of online abuse his celebrity partner Amber Davies has endured since joining the competition.
After delivering a breathtaking 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, placing them second on the leaderboard. Earlier, their powerful Tango had already scored an impressive 37.
But behind the applause and glowing scores, Nikita revealed a far more painful truth.
Speaking backstage with host Claudia Winkleman, the 27-year-old turned to Amber and spoke with heartbreaking honesty.
“You’ve had so much hate,” he said quietly. “From the moment you joined — every single day.”
He explained how, despite relentless criticism, Amber continued to show up to rehearsals smiling — bringing positivity, warmth, and even ginger shots to support him when he was struggling.
“You care about me when I’m supposed to care about you,” Nikita told her. “You are one of the kindest people I know.”
Then, turning his message outward, he addressed viewers directly:
“Please be kind. It costs nothing. You don’t deserve any of this. You only deserve love.”
Amber, 29, has faced scrutiny from the very beginning — partly because of her previous dance training, and partly because she joined the competition as a last-minute replacement after Dani Dyer was forced to withdraw through injury.
The backlash intensified last weekend when Amber and Nikita beat Lewis Cope and Katya Jones in a shock dance-off, securing their place in the semi-final and triggering a wave of online criticism.
Earlier this week on It Takes Two, Amber admitted the reaction had started to take its toll.
“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.”
Despite everything, Amber was careful to focus on the support rather than the cruelty.
“The love is more overpowering than the hate,” she added. “If you’ve sent a kind message — thank you. It really means everything.”
Following the dance-off, she shared a heartfelt tribute to Lewis Cope, calling him her “number one fan” and admitting it broke her heart to dance against someone she considers a close friend.
As Strictly heads into its final stages, Nikita and Amber remain strong contenders — not just because of their scores, but because of the trust, respect, and bond they’ve built together on the dancefloor.
And amid the sequins, rivalries, and noise of social media, it’s Nikita’s simple plea that may resonate the longest:
“Please be kind.”
