Amber Davies receives perfect score during musicals week on Strictly

Reality TV star Amber Davies has secured a perfect score on Strictly Come Dancing for an “absolutely fantastic” performance during musicals weeks.

The Love Island winner and West End performer, 29, and her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin were praised by the judges for their Charleston to Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat from Guys And Dolls.

The dance, which received 40 points from the judges and saw Davies perform the splits and a number of difficult lifts, was lauded as “absolutely fantastic” by head judge Shirley Ballas, who said Davies was “an absolute star”.

Craig Revel Horwood said “the swivels were perfect” and the “timing and execution was flawless”, while Anton Du Beke said: “It would be very difficult to find a dance better than this.”

Motsi Mabuse agreed with Du Beke and added: “I have never seen anything like that. One word: perfection.”

Davies, who has performed in musicals including 9 To 5: The Musical and The Great Gatsby, said this week has been “madness for me”.

In joint second place this week are EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal and Australian dancer Julian Caillon, internet star George Clarke and US partner Alexis Warr, and soap star Lewis Cope and professional dancer Katya Jones, who were all awarded 35 points.

Sopal, 47, became emotional following comments from Mabuse after her Viennese waltz to Never Enough from The Greatest Showman.

Referencing Sopal’s regular presence in the bottom two, Mabuse said: “It must be really demoralising what you have been through in this competition.”

Clarke and Warr opened the BBC One dancing competition with their Argentine tango to The Point Of No Return from The Phantom Of The Opera.

Clarke, 26, who wore a half mask and puffy shirt, was told his dance was “sensational” by Mabuse, who said the performance “set the tone” for the night, while Ballas said she loved “the whole ambience of it”.

Cope, 30, and Jones received a mixed reception to their salsa to Dance At The Gym from West Side Story.

Ballas told Cope “it wasn’t your best dance, for me, by far” and Horwood agreed and said: “We have seen you dance better.”

In contrast, Du Beke said Cope had an “incredible physicality” and added: “All in all… I rather liked it.”

Also on the show, former Lioness Karen Carney and Carlos Gu were awarded 34 points following their samba to The Rhythm Of Life from Sweet Charity.

Carney, who wore a hippy-looking outfit with fringe details, was praised by the judges for her spins.

Ballas said “your sense of balance for me is absolutely off the chart”, and she also lauded the couple’s chemistry.

Horwood said Carney’s spins were “out of this world” but he added that the dance was “too busy”.

Opening Saturday night’s musicals special was a five-minute routine that saw each pair take to the floor to dance to songs from shows including My Fair Lady, Oliver!, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins Returns.

This weekend’s musicals special also saw a performance from former Strictly contestant and McFly singer Tom Fletcher alongside the cuddly looking bear from Paddington The Musical.

Last weekend, Cope and Jones made Strictly history by winning the first-ever Instant Dance challenge, while actress Alex Kingston and partner Johannes Radebe were voted off the show following a cha cha cha to Anita Ward’s Ring My Bell.

Strictly Come Dancing: The Results will air at 7.45pm on BBC One on Sunday.