Strictly Come Dancing's Carlos Gu says Lioness Karen Carney 'completely blew his mind' with debut jive
Anita Markoff | 12:00pm Tue 30 Sep | Updated 4:27pm Tue 30 SepStrictly Come Dancing professional Carlos Gu has admitted Karen Carney “completely blew his mind” with her debut on the BBC show.
The professional dancer claims he had “no idea” his celebrity partner was able to dance the way she did during Saturday’s first live show.
Former Lioness Karen, 38, and Carlos, 32, performed a football-inspired jive and soared to the top of the first leaderboard with a score of 31 out of 40.
The pair have since returned to the training room and reflected on their Week 1 performance in an Instagram video. Carlos admitted to the pair’s online followers: “The thing is, I had no idea she could do that. I had no idea she could pull off a dance like what she did on Saturday night. It has completely blown my mind.”
Carlos added: “I knew that this dance was going to be great technically and we were going to have fun, but she was living in the dance, which I was so impressed about it.”
Karen, meanwhile, has said she has been left feeling “overwhelmed” following her Strictly Come Dancing debut. She has thanked Carlos and admitted she is also “blown away” by their Week 1 results.
When asked how she felt by Carlos, Karen replied: “Um, overwhelmed, really overwhelmed.” She added: “Thank you everyone for all your kind messages and thoughts. I was completely blown away, I still am.
“We’ve got another dance to prepare for now, this guy has got his work cut out. He was brilliant the other day and I couldn’t do it without him.”
Karen tipped to win Strictly
Karen and Carlos closed Saturday’s (September 27) live show by performing a high energy jive to Blondie’s One Way or Another. The retired England footballer stormed onto the dance floor with Carlos in faux football kits – and they finished the night with 31 points from the judges.
Karen and Carlos’ score was the highest of the evening. It also makes Karen the first footballer to top the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard in 18 years. The last player to do it was England legend John Barnes in 2007.
Fans have since heaped praise on Karen’s performance and are even tipping her as Strictly Come Dancing 2025’s winner. One viewer wrote online: “Absolutely unreal. Could be the winner. Last time I saw a dance like this on the first night was Jay McGuiness doing the jive from Pulp Fiction.” Another added: “She was amazing, best dance of the night by far.”
Judges’ reaction
The Strictly judges were equally impressed as viewers at home. Head judge Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse even gave her a standing ovation.
Motsi told Karen: “I have to be honest here. I never seen anything like that.” She added: “It felt like this is the last dance you’ll ever dance, ever.” Shirley continued: “It was just sensational. Best dance of the night for me.”
Anton Du Beke told Karen: “That is the best way to end the show, with the best dance of the night.” Even Craig Revel Horwood, who is usually the harshest critic on the panel, called her routine “ridiculous”, adding: “I was not expecting any of that, my darling.”
Karen’s dance history
While Karen’s reputation was built on the football pitch, she isn’t entirely new to dance. As a child, she took hip-hop and disco classes at her local dance school before dedicating herself to football full-time. Her former England teammate, Jill Scott, has previously referenced her dance floor skill in their joint podcast, joking: “Kaz can dance, it’s annoying!”
Ahead of her Strictly journey, Karen admitted she hoped it would help fans see a new side to her. The football legend told OK! magazine: “I want people to see the warm side of me. The kind, caring team player. I’m actually quite awkward, and nervous. But I’m also really daft and funny, and I probably just want to bring the other version of Karen.”
