Karen Carney’s secret connection to a history-making Strictly Come Dancing winner has been revealed as the Lioness goes from strength to strength in the competition herself.
Karen Carney’s surprising link to a former Strictly Come Dancing winner has come to light. The 38-year-old Lioness is currently dazzling audiences on the BBC’s Saturday night show with professional partner Carlos Gu, consistently scoring high on the leaderboard.
It has now emerged that Carney actually knew one of the show’s past winners personally—they even lived next door to each other at one point. However, insiders have described her participation on Strictly as a “complete coincidence.”
The revelation came during Friday’s edition of ITV’s Lorraine, when comedian Chris McCausland appeared to promote his memoir Keep Laughing. Stand-in host Christine Lampard asked him who he thought might lift the Glitterball Trophy this year, nearly a year after he made history as the first blind contestant to win the show.
Speaking to the Loose Women panel, Chris McCausland highlighted how Karen Carney embodies the spirit of Strictly Come Dancing, given her remarkable progress on the show. He said:
“Karen Carney is what the show is about. She’s learning, having her ups and downs, and really thriving. Me and Karen, completely by coincidence, were next-door neighbours for quite a while and first met during lockdown. We even shared the same communal garden, so to have two consecutive Strictly winners from the same street might just push the house prices up!”
Reflecting on his own success, Chris—who won the Glitterball Trophy alongside professional Dianne Buswell with their performance to You’ll Never Walk Alone—admitted the victory was a shock. He added:
“Reigning champion of Strictly comes and goes, doesn’t it? But honestly, what Dianne and I achieved is absolutely bananas to me. No one was more surprised than I was. I talk about it at the end of my book, and it’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done.”
The revelation comes just hours after Karen Carney opened up about the mental health struggles she faced during her football career. In 2009, after signing for US team Chicago Red Stars, she was forced to take time off following a knee operation. During her recovery, she admitted to developing an addiction to sleeping pills and engaging in self-harm.
“I was in a pretty bad way,” Karen told The Guardian. “I think that has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to overcome.” She credited coach Emma Hayes with urging her to return to the UK, even though she still had another year left on her contract. “I came back purely to… save my life,” she said, explaining that the support of friends helped her emerge from that dark period.
Karen went on to end her football career on a high, becoming the third most-capped England player in history with 144 appearances for the Lionesses across four World Cups, four European Championships, and the London 2012 Olympics. Since retiring, she has built a respected punditry career, working with TNT Sports and ITV, and in 2022 she chaired the UK government’s landmark review into the future of women’s football. She was awarded an MBE in 2017 and an OBE in 2024.
However, her media career has not been without challenges. Karen revealed the toll of online abuse, noting that during her playing days she endured horrific messages wishing her “cancer, leukaemia, and rape.” In December 2020, she chose to delete her Twitter (now X) account after receiving thousands of abusive and sexist messages following comments she made about Leeds United while working for Amazon Prime. She had praised the team after their 5-0 win against West Brom but raised concerns about them “blowing up at the end of the season.”
Karen Carney opened up further about the impact of online abuse, telling The Guardian: “I actually think they got promoted because of Covid in terms of it gave them a bit of respite.” She admitted that the experience “crushed my confidence. It floored me as a human, completely floored me. I’ve never got over it. I’m more emotional about that than what I dealt with in America. I’ve not dealt with this.”
Karen described the abuse as feeling “like the whole world was caving in on me,” adding, “I’ve never experienced anything like it.” Despite these challenges, she has pledged to continue commenting on men’s football, calling her love for the sport “the greatest gift” she’s ever been given. However, she has become hyper-vigilant, meticulously researching and preparing for broadcasts to avoid mistakes, and restricting who can comment on her Instagram posts.
Reflecting on her Strictly Come Dancing journey, Karen said it has been a “rebuilding” experience, surrounded by an outpouring of “positivity” that has left her feeling “overwhelmed” in recent weeks. She also praised professional partner Carlos Gu, highlighting how his “unapologetic” approach inspires her to be confident, do her best, and stay true to herself. On Saturday, the pair will perform a Couples Choice routine to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way.