Karen Carney and professional dancer Carlos Gu have been crowned winners of Strictly Come Dancing 2025, making history as the first footballer to win the BBC competition in its 21-year history. The final, which aired on Saturday night, also marked the end of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman's tenure as presenters.
Carney and Gu overcame competition from George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin. Despite the judges' scores not counting on the night, the pair were the only couple to receive two perfect scores of 40 out of three routines.
Speaking after her victory, Carney said: 'I cannot believe it. I just want to say thank you to everybody that's supported our journey, supported us, and thank you to this wonderful gentleman. We are a team, and I could not have done this without you.' Gu added: 'Thank you for changing my life.'
Fans took to social media to celebrate the historic win. @louise_sasha20 wrote: 'The respect I have for Karen to be the first footballer to win strictly in 21 years is incredible.' @daisconnected said: 'She's made history being the first footballer to win strictly.'
Carney joins a list of recent winners including Chris McCausland, Ellie Leach, Hamza Yassin, and Bill Bailey. Other footballers who have competed on the show include Paul Merson, Tony Adams, Robbie Savage, Peter Schmeichel, and Alex Scott.
