When Strictly foxtrots back on to our screens later this month, it will be the first time in 14 years without longest serving female pro dancer Karen Hauer, who shimmied her way through more than 100 numbers on the show. But she’s not ready to kick off her dancing shoes just yet – revealing her ambition to cha-cha her way into the role of fiery Puerto Rican, Anita, in West Side Story. She says: “My dream role would be Anita in West Side Story. The world is my oyster.”
When Strictly’s new season launches on Saturday 19 September, it will also be the first time Karen has watched it live. She says: “I’ve never watched it live – I was always in it.”
And Karen – who announced her departure in a statement on social media in March – is not the only high profile departure. Longtime hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly have also left, as have pro dancers Gorka Márquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas. Karen says: “Things have to evolve. Whether people like it or not.”
But Karen will be rooting for the new hosts, Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Rabede. She says: “The new series is so exciting. I’ll definitely be watching my friends and I’m really looking forward to seeing Johannes, Emma and especially Josh. I danced with him on the Christmas Special dressed as penguins.”
Karen, who was in the show from 2012 to 2025, has already started her new chapter – playing teacher Mavis in Devonshire Park Theatre’s production of the Richard Harris comedy, Stepping Out in Eastbourne until the end of April, before taking it on tour until the end of September. She will then be playing the Wicked Queen in Snow White at The Princess Theatre, Torquay, in December and January.
She says: “I’d been preparing myself mentally for a long time to leave [Strictly]. I’m doing great, I’m really happy. I’m going to miss Strictly, but I’m definitely enjoying my new chapter.”
But the dancer was shocked by the outpouring of love she felt from fans when she announced her departure. She says: “I’ve never felt so much love. I made such an impact without even actually knowing. I was shocked. I was like, ‘how come you guys didn’t vote for me to win?’ Goddamn it.”
Giving no dramatic reason for going, she simply says it was “the right time” to go, adding: “There’s a time when you just have to go, ‘okay, well, that’s a wrap.’ Now I have free time. I don’t know what’s going to happen in five years. So, I’m literally living the best life that I can right now, and not overthinking about the future.”
The first to admit to being a romantic, Karen has had three husbands. She was married to dancer Matthew Hauer from 2000 to 2009, to fellow Strictly pro dancer Kevin Clifton from 2015 to 2018 and then to fitness professional Jordan Wyn-Jones from 2022 to 2023.
But she now shares her rural home near Preston, Greater Manchester, with her boyfriend of three years, rugby player Simon Davidson and four rescue dogs, Betty, Phoebe, Marley and Joe. After her hectic Strictly schedule, she says of Simon: “It’s probably really weird for him to have me home.”
Positive she has now found ‘The One,’ she continues: “I love love. I think love is incredible, and I found it in Simon. I love being in a partnership, and in a partnership that’s healthy. “Knowing what a healthy relationship looks like and being in it … I think that’s what I love is, and that’s what I’ve been searching for. Joy for me is being at home with Simon and the dogs.”
Honouring her love of dogs, in November, Karen is hosting the The Burns Bravery Awards, in which the pet nutrition brand is calling on people to nominate Britain’s Bravest Dogs. Research from Burns Pet Nutrition reveals that three-quarters of owners say they turn to their dog when they’ve had a bad day.
And Karen can see why, saying: “My rescue dogs are the best thing to ever happen to me. Mentally, physically, my dogs get me out of bed, they get me out for a walk. My dogs have been through all my ups and downs. I think my dogs need therapy now.”
The dancer also turns to her mum Mirian when she needs comfort or inspiration. She says: “She inspires me every day. ‘It’s not going to be easy, kid, but you got this’ – that’s what I’ve always known since I was a kid. I’ve always fought and I’ve seen my mum struggle. I’ve seen what it takes to make it – not just as a person on television, but to make it in life.
“My mum raised three kids in New York City, in the Bronx, on her own. She always says, ‘don’t let your head get to the clouds.’ And that’s why I’ve always been very grounded, no matter what kind of job or who I’ve met. We’re all the same. On Strictly, I was never the flashy one, I was always grateful that first of all I had a job – and one that I loved and which entertained the entire nation.”
Karen made it to the Strictly final twice, with partners Jamie Laing and Mark Wright, but never lifted the glitterball. She says: “I was winning every year just being there. It’s great getting a 10, it’s fantastic, but it’s the moments that bring a smile to people’s faces and make them go, ‘That was really funny’, that I’ll remember the most.”
One such moment was when Anton Du Beke and Ann Widdecombe danced together at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom in 2010. This hilarious moment was how she likes to remember the long serving former Conservative MP, who died on July 9, aged 78, and whose death is now the subject of a murder inquiry.
Speaking fondly of Ann and Anton, Karen says: “He took her by the hand and the foot and was just swinging her around in a yellow dress. I was on the floor, peeing myself. It’s those moments, that’s what Strictly’s about.” Meanwhile, Karen gave her many famous Strictly partners – who included Westlife’s Nicky Byrne, actor Greg Wise and comedian Jayde Adams – the same advice.
She says: “I told all of my celebrities, ‘you have to enjoy it. We’re going to work hard, but I want to have a laugh. If you’re not having a laugh, then this is not going to work.’ A lot of people find it really hard to enjoy it, because there’s so much panic.”
Another of Karen’s favourite moments came in 2019, during Halloween week, when her wig came clean off her head on live TV.
“It was hilarious,” says Karen. “But so what if your wig comes off? People are going to remember that you made them smile. That’s what I’ll remember when I’m 85 … or dancing with Jeremy Vine coming out of a bath, or with the late Dave Myers, who I absolutely adored. Wow, I was living the dream, wasn’t I?”
*Following a public voting period, winners will be announced at the Burns Bravery Awards in November. For more information, and to nominate your dog, enter at burnspet.co.uk/pages/burns-bravery-awards