Strictly Come Dancing viewers have claimed that former England footballer Karen Carney was 'stitched up' after a 'ropey' performance on Saturday night. The 38-year-old danced a Charleston with professional partner Carlos Gu, 32, to a mash-up of Diana Ross's Upside Down and Aretha Franklin's Think, scoring 35 points to finish mid-table.
Fans took to X to express their disappointment, with one writing: 'She’s been stitched right up with that song choice. Sure not a 10, the lifts were pretty ropey.' Another scathed: 'How to ruin a Charleston – make them dance to totally inappropriate music.' A third commented: 'Karen such an energetic dance and so well done just hated the song choice.'
A fourth viewer posted: 'I’ve no idea what the dance was like, the music put me right off, tho what I did see was fast and a tad messy.' A fifth added: 'No idea what that was but the music was awful and it just did not gel together at all.' The judges, however, praised the routine.
Despite her football fame, Carney has past dance experience, having trained as a dancer before focusing on football. She told the FA: 'I enjoyed football when I was a kid... until then, it was all about dancing for me.' She trained up to three hours on Saturdays and competed in 'big events' on Sundays before quitting dance at 15 to pursue football.
Carney credited her dance background for her football skills, saying: 'My agility, my strength, my power and how I move my feet during a match are all definitely down to dancing, 100 per cent.'
