Alongside a snap of her with Ross in their Movie Week outfits, Karen penned: “Absolutely gutted. Since the beginning of this show @therossking has been a rock for me and is one of the most genuine and funny people I’ve ever met.
“Have loved every minute of our @bbcstrictly journey and will miss you loads but know I’ll have a mate for life.”
Speaking on the Strictly results show, Ross said about his time on the show: “I have loved every single minute of it.
“I would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported us, all the people who voted – they’ve been amazing.
“I want to thank everyone here in this room, backstage, the judges, the crew – every single person here has made me so, so welcome.
“And, I want to thank a very special lady who has been with me through it all and has been absolutely everything: she’s been a mentor, teacher, carer and I could not have wished for a better partner, and I could not have wished to be on a better show. Thank you judges for all your remarks.”
Meanwhile, Jowita shared: “Thank you so much for all of your work. For everything you have done during rehearsals.
“We laugh a lot – but we also cried! Thank you so much, and I hope I’m going to be a little part in your life forever.”
Both Jowita and Ross will appear on It Takes Two on Monday in their first TV interview after their elimination.
Ross also shared a number of snaps from his time on the show on Instagram as he reflected on his journey.
Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday 18 October at 6:30pm, with the results show on Sunday 19 October at 7:15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
Karen Carney shot to the top of the leaderboard on Strictly Come Dancing this weekend, with fans surprised by the footballer’s dance skills. Now it has been revealed Karen has a secret dance past
07:31, 01 Oct 2025Updated 07:31, 01 Oct 2025
Footballer Karen performed a jive(Image: BBC)
Footballer Karen Carney left Strictly Come Dancing fans stunned with her performance on the weekend. Karen and professional dance partner Carlos Gu’s Jive to One Way or Another wowed the audiences in the studio and at home.
In an old interview with the FA, she said: “I enjoyed football when I was a kid and had loads of kickabouts but I didn’t join my first club until I was 11. Until then, it was all about dancing for me.”
As part of her dance training, Karen would perfect her routines for three hours every Saturday and also revealed she took part in “big events” on a Sunday whilst she was at school in the week.
“When I got a bit older and my football matches switched to a Sunday, I had some choices to make,” she said, “I decided to give up dancing when I was 15. My agility, my strength, my power and how I move my feet during a match are all definitely down to dancing, 100 per cent. I was quite little but I was quite strong and that was because all the dancing made my muscles stronger.”
In an exclusive interview with OK!, Karen revealed she was keen to show a different side of her.
She said: “The challenge for me will be trying to show the real version of me, and not getting shy or awkward, or insular. A lot of people will have seen me in the football environment, and it’s quite intense. My feeling is that people perceive me in a certain way — that I’m very… serious. But that’s not really accurate!
“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, not the footballer Karen.
“Everyone I know who’s been on Strictly has told me not to be too hard on myself. If it was football, I’d be absolutely critical of myself, but this isn’t my thing, it’s the pros’ thing — and I’m humbled and privileged to be on the show.”
Karen has also become firm friends with her fellow Strictly stars, including Vicky Pattison. She revealed: “It’s just a lovely bunch this year. Vicky is so down-to-earth and she’s got really good energy,” she grins. “She always comes to me and says, ‘Are you OK?’ and I’m like, ‘Yes I’m OK, but are you OK?!’
“Ross King also cracks me up. He asked me to bring in a ball, so I said I’d bring in a mini ball, because it’ll keep me calm too, so we’ll be messing around and playing football when we can.”
Karen is now one of the favourites to win, with odds for the footballer rising from 16/1 to 5/1.
Karen Carney is one of the famous faces trying her luck on the dance floor on this year’s edition of Strictly but she is best known for being one of England’s Lionesses
17:00, 20 Sep 2025Updated 17:15, 20 Sep 2025
She will be joining the likes of Love Island winner Dani Dyer, Geordie Shore legend Vicky Pattison and Neighbours star Stefan Dennis, amongst a host of others (Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston)
Karen Carney is one of the famous faces trying her luck on the dance floor on this year’s edition of Strictly Come Dancing. She will be joining the likes of Love Island winner Dani Dyer, Geordie Shore legend Vicky Pattison and Neighbours star Stefan Dennis, amongst a host of others
But life wasn’t always so easy for the Lioness, 38, who became the second most capped England player with 144 appearances before the record was beaten by I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! star Jill Scott. Since her days on the pitch, she has carved out a successful presenting career and has been seen on TNT Sports, and Sky Sports, covering major sporting events.
However, the sports star was born in Birmingham and once shunned the idea of riches that a career in sports can bring. She said: “I’m from Birmingham: my mum works at Sainsbury’s, my dad is a fire-fighter. We keep it real. We know who we are. I don’t need a Bentley; I don’t need a Rolex!”
The footballer came from humble beginnings and once shunned the idea of riches that a career in sports can bring(Image: Getty Images)
What’s more, Karen did have to put up with some bullying when she was at school in a time when girls weren’t encouraged to play football. She previously told Startups Magazine: ” I think when I first started playing, I was the only girl and got bullied for it. It wasn’t really the norm to play, as historically it’s for boys and men. }”
So, at 11 when I told my mum “I’m going to play for England,” we didn’t know that there was an England women’s team at the time or if there was a team where I could try and play. All I knew is I just fell in love with it.”
Karen enjoyed a record-breaking career on the pitch, but confirmed earlier this year that she had in fact retired for good. The sports star, who was nicknamed ‘the wizard’ during play, held an Ask Me Anything session on social media and confirmed: “It has meant retiring the boots completely. I have come out and played Soccer Aid the last couple of times, but unfortunately, I don’t really play anymore.”
Despite this, Karen is still a keen advocate for health and fitness, and nearly seven years ago, she adopted a vegan diet. She previously explained: “When I turned vegan in 2018 and noticed the positive change immediately both in my health and performance on the football pitch when playing for both club and country.
The star recently retired from football and is swapping her trainers for dancing shoes (Image: Getty Images)
“The perception of the plant-based diet is that you will miss out on certain foods, but thankfully, Violife means I never miss out on my cheesy favourites like pizza and cheese on toast!”
Prior to breaking into football, Karen attended Loughborough University in Sports and Exercise Science, where she studied Physiology and Sports Psychology. With regards to her personal life, she is notoriously private and has never disclosed whether she has a special someone on the scene.
It’s not yet known who Karen’s Strictly partner will be, but the Lioness star has been given odds of 12/1 when it comes to winning the whole competition and walking off with the Glitterball Trophy.
On joining the show, Karen said: ““It really is a dream come true to be a part of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line up. I’m such a huge fan of the show and I can’t believe I’m finally getting the chance to take part. I’m so excited to meet everyone and get dancing!”
But Judge Anton insisted it was not a problem as viewers always grow to love the line ups of long running BBC series
20:56, 16 Sep 2025Updated 20:56, 16 Sep 2025
Anton with Strictly hosts Tess and Claudia that he knows very well – unlike some of the celebs this year(Image: Joe Maher/Getty Images for the NTA’s)
TV judge Anton Du Beke has admitted that he does not recognise many of the stars picked for Strictly Come Dancing these days. Echoing public criticism that the BBC dance show’s line-up can sometimes lack a little lustre or the big names of previous years, he admitted the first time he would see some of them could be on the ballroom.
Anton said: “When I first started, we sort of knew them, but now as you get older… there are a number of people on the show that I am not familiar with.” Speaking of last year’s model contestant Tasha Ghouri, he added: “I mean last year, Tasha? I did not know Tasha. No, I don’t know a number of people on the show.”
But he has got used to being a bit baffled, as more online personalities are introduced onto the show, explaining: “You don’t know who they are, but that is normal.”
Anton admits he had no idea who Tasha Ghouri was (Image: PA)
He said of the 25-year-old YouTuber taking to the dancefloor for 2025: “There is that lovely boy George Clarke doing it this year. I thought it was the buildings fella, George Clarke the architect.”
And although he has now watched performances by the contestants who will be strutting their stuff on telly from this Saturday, he hasn’t seen enough to pick a winner.
Anton, 59, recalled how he was asked for an early opinion at the recording of the launch show and said: “They made it down the stairs unaided. I don’t know what you want me to say. Ask me next week when they have danced a bit.”
This year’s 15 celebrities include four reality TV stars: Vicky Pattison, 37, Thomas Skinner, 34, Dani Dyer, 29, and La Voix, 45. There are four sports stars too: sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, 37, footballers Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, 53, and Karen Carney, 38, and rugby union’s Chris Robshaw, 39.
A new crowd of celebrity faces will take to the dancefloor in a matter of weeks(Image: PA)
It is actors who make up the biggest group, with five: Stefan Dennis, 66, Alex Kingston, 62, Balvinder Sopal, 46, Ellie Goldstein, 23, and Lewis Cope, 30. There is also presenter Ross King, 63, and YouTuber George.
Speaking at an event to launch his new novel, Monte Carlo by Moonlight, Anton said he will soon be reading the celebrities’ body language. He said of judging: “As I sit ther,e I know exactly what has been going on. I can see by this routine what sort of a week you have had and I laugh.
“If they start at the top of the stairs and walk down, they have had a very difficult week, like they are wasting as much time as they can until they get on the floor and have to take hold. The waltz is always lovely to judge. You can always see how good and bad their week has been by how long they stay ‘in hold’.”
After years of grumbles that contestants with dance experience – such as Lewis Cope – have a head start, Anton conceded it is tru,e but that the advantage is only slight. “It will help them a bit. I have not seen many of those who have actually won.”
And he had some tips for the professionals, too. “Learn that it is not about you. I was always aware of that. It is not my name they say first. It is the celebrity’s name.” Anton, who has eight-year-old twins with wife Hannah, also urged BBC bosses to tweak the rules on voting.
This year voting via premium phone lines has been axed and instead viewers have a brief opportunity on Saturday nights to vote online. But Anton thinks voting should go on all week, as many Strictly Come Dancing fans catch up on iPlayer.
He said: “I remember when we started the show, you could vote all week. Now you have a little window, and that is a shame because some people can’t watch it on a Saturday night.
“They might be working or may go out. I would like people to be able to vote during the week as everyone is invested even if they watch it on catch-up, so give them the opportunity to vote.”
And as for the show’s enduring popularity as it enters its 23rd series, he said: “The show works because we re-cast it every year and now we have a couple of new pros. There is an extraordinary amount of enthusiasm for it. The room is always enthused and I think that transfers to people watching it.
“You can like it for different reasons. You can like it for the frocks, the group dances, the couples or want to see how people are getting on. You can like the judges – or not like the judges!”
* The launch show of the new series of Strictly Come Dancing is on at 6.40pm on Saturday on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer.
