Karen Carney‘s dance experience has been revealed after she stunned viewers with her incredible first performance.
The new Strictly favourite, 38, took to the ballroom on Saturday night with her partner Carlos where they danced a jive.
Her jaw-dropping efforts saw her jump straight to the top of the leaderboard, leaving the judges impressed and viewers at home shocked.
Now, the former England Lioness’s previous dance experience has been revealed.
In an old interview, she told how she had originally trained in dance as a child before getting into football seriously.
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.
Karen Carney’s dance experience has been revealed after she stunned viewers with her incredible first performance
The new Strictly favourite, 38, took to the ballroom on Saturday night with her partner Carlos where they danced a jive
‘Until then, it was all about dancing for me.
‘We did loads of different routines and genres of music; street dancing, hip-hop, disco, rock ‘n’ roll, slow dancing, team dances.’
The Sun reported Karen as also saying: ‘When I got a bit older and my football matches switched to a Sunday, I had some choices to make.
‘I decided to give up dancing when I was 15.’
She continued: ‘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.’
Following her performance on Saturday, the bookies’ odds on Karen lifting the glitterball trophy have been slashed.
Her odds at bookmaker Ladbrokes have dropped from 16/1 to just 5/1.
In an old interview, Karen told how she had originally trained in dance as a child before getting into football seriously
Following her performance on Saturday, the bookies’ odds on Karen lifting the glitterball trophy have been slashed
One stunned fan wrote on Saturday: ‘Karen Carney producing this performance in week one and coming top of the leader-board? We’re in for an absolute treat this series for sure’.
While another praised her post-dance interview, writing: ‘Karen Carney – what a fabulously humble, professional woman. In a world full of people shouting “look at me me me” it’s so refreshing to hear someone say “thanks for having me”, “great crowd”, “everyone worked so hard”. You’d just know she’s a great team player. Respect.’
‘Hollldddd on. I feel like I’m joining the entire country in ripping up my Strictly predictions tonight because oh my god??? Karen Carney I am so sorry I was not aware of your game,’ another posted.
Meanwhile, Lewis Cope’s professional dance past recently came to light, sparking fury amongst fans.
It turns out his talents stretch far beyond the small screen, as the soap star is also a trained dancer.
During a pre-recorded segment on the BBC show, Lewis confessed he had been dancing since the age of 10 – even landing a role in Billy Elliot in London’s West End.
He shared: ‘When I was 11, I was in Billy Elliot in the West End, which was quite relevant to my life. So my brothers were boxing and I was dancing.’
Karen’s jaw-dropping efforts saw her jump straight to the top of the leaderboard, leaving the judges impressed and viewers at home shocked
Flocking to X, formerly Twitter, fans claimed he will likely win the show because of his past dance experience.
One wrote: ‘I need Lewis to stop pretending he’s not a trained dancer.; ‘Another Billy Elliot ex-pro dancer. tut tut’
A second commented: ‘Just give lewis the trophy now. He looks the part without seeing him move.’
While a third chimed in: ‘Lewis is such a natural mover. His theatre experience will really help him as well. He’s definitely making that final I can feel it.’