Strictly Come Dancing champion Karen Carney has revealed she doesn't remember winning the show last year, admitting the experience was a blur of adrenaline and intense training.
The 39-year-old former Lioness danced her way to victory in the 23rd series in 2025 with professional partner Carlos Gu, becoming the first footballer to lift the Glitterball Trophy. Speaking about the win, she said: "I don't remember winning Strictly Come Dancing last year."
Training was 'full-on and intense'
Karen told The Metro that despite her career in football, the training for the BBC show pushed her harder than anything before. "I trained for eight hours a day, Monday to Thursday. We'd start at 8:00am, dance until our lunch break, and dance again all afternoon," she recalled.
She explained that she needed to learn each week's routine by Tuesday to feel comfortable, then spent Wednesday and Thursday running it repeatedly. "But every dance was different and brought another physical push. The Rumba, for example, doesn't look like a hard dance – but it made me feel like I'd lifted 100kg every day. The tango and the waltz both challenged my back, arms and upper body. The jive was a full-body workout," she said.
Emotional final night
Reflecting on the final, Karen said: "We had to do two very difficult dances, the waltz and the salsa, so there was a huge sense of achievement and also a massive relief that we'd actually got there."
The night was emotional for several reasons. It marked Carlos Gu becoming the first openly gay and Asian man to win the competition, and it was also the last live show co-hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman after 14 years together. The runners-up were West End performer Amber Davies with Nikita Kuzmin, and social media personality George Clarke with Alexis Warr.
Carlos, in tears at their victory, told Claudia: "She changed my life. I think she's the best thing I've ever had in 2025. I came to Strictly after a competitive life. I was self-centred, I was all me, me, me. No wonder I didn't get a partner last year because I'm not grateful." He added: "She taught me how to be a kind, humble person and for the first time I learned to be a team player."
Following Movie Week, the remaining 14 contestants return to the dance floor this weekend with no theme, competing for another chance to reach the final.
