Karen Carney looks set to beat the ‘other’ Strictly Come Dancing curse

The first night of Strictly Come Dancing was full of surprises, but no-one threw a bigger curveball than former Lioness Karen Carney.

Personally, my favourite Strictly contestants are the ones who slip completely under the radar in the lead-up to the first dance and end up being absolutely spectacular.

Bill Bailey was a wild outsider going into Strictly in 2020, but he was unstoppable once he took to the dancefloor, delivering some of the most memorable performances in the show’s 21-year history.

Chris McCausland wasn’t on any bookmakers’ lists to win, but every week – from his first dance to his last – he had me bawling, with impeccable precision, timing, and care that would be impressive in any dancer, let alone a blind comedian.

On Saturday night, I had the same chills watching Karen whip her feet around the Strictly ballroom as I did for Bill and Chris.

And what do Bill and Chris have in common? They both lifted the Glitterball trophy – and to my own surprise I think the women’s football pioneer can do the same. 

Strictly has never been far from controversy in recent years, but this series felt cursed with a string of unfortunate events between eyebrow-raising contestants and injuries. 

The opening night, however, confirmed there was more to be excited about than I expected.

Admittedly, I knew absolutely nothing about YouTuber George Clarke a few weeks ago, but I immediately warmed to his self-deprecating humour – which made his seamless American Smooth all the more impressive.

Amber Davies somehow managed to pull off a stunning Waltz with just a few days’ practice, which is no mean feat, even for someone with her extensive dance experience.

Fellow late replacement Lewis Cope had sparked controversy, with his past as a professional dancer not going down well with fans; regardless, he delivered a knockout Jive with his partner Katya Jones thanks to his sky-high kicks and snappy precision. 

I imagine there wasn’t a single person who expected him to be beaten on the leaderboard, and certainly not by a footballer performing the same dance.

Against all expectations, though, Karen did just that.

Her Jive was one of those unforgettable moments that could go on to define the course of this entire series – an unexpected two minutes of joy that lifts you off the sofa before you even realise it, punching the air because you’ve just watched someone achieve a dream none of us even knew she had.

Karen is already an inspiration: the third most-capped female England footballer of all time who has no doubt encouraged countless young women to break boundaries and shatter expectations.

On Saturday night, Claudia Winkleman revealed it had been 18 years since a footballer topped the Strictly leaderboard.

John Barnes was the last, with his Cha Cha Cha in 2007 – and ex-pros generally have performed poorly, with Alex Scott’s fifth place finish the best ever result for a former footballer. 

Karen broke that curse in week one.

Granted, she does have prior dance experience. She trained for three hours every Saturday as a child before she was eventually forced to make the biggest decision of her life: football or dance.

She chose football, and became one of the best players in the world.

Unlike Lewis Cope, though, she never made a career out of dancing. Regardless of her experience, her journey still feels authentic and organic. If anything, there’s something even more special about watching someone who gave up dancing pick it back up again – and perform on the biggest stage in Britain.

After week one, Karen has the bookmakers trembling. Her odds of winning were at one point slashed from 16/1 to 5/1, which, according to Ladbrokes, is ‘practically unheard of after one performance.’

She’s still trailing behind George Clarke and Lewis, with Vicky Pattison – who also had a surprisingly strong start – now roughly on par with Karen.

I wrote in a previous column that this Strictly series was clearly a two-horse race, tipping Dani and model Ellie Goldstein as the leaders of the pack.

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We’ll never know if Dani would have lived up to expectations, and Ellie was easily one of the highlights of week one. But looking at the competition now – with several contestants delivering far more than anyone expected – there’s a lot more to play for.

Drag icon La Voix might not be the strongest dancer, but for me, she was the most fun. Her dynamic with Aljaž Škorjanec was everything drag should be: flirtatious, playful, and high camp.

Dianne Buswell made history as the first pregnant professional dancer on Strictly, which was every bit as impressive as I knew it would be – but I had no idea Neighbours legend Stef Dennis would be such a nifty mover, too. In hindsight, as two Aussies, their chemistry is dynamite.

I’ll be amazed if Ross King survives the first elimination. His timing was so spectacularly bad it was wince-inducing, even if he did capture the spirit of giving it his all.

Otherwise, it was one of the strongest starts to a Strictly series I can remember.

For now, Karen is still the dark horse of the competition – but if this is how she breaks out of the starting gate, I predict she could easily become the front-runner in no time at all.

This article was originally published October 1, 2025

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