Strictly star Karen Carney has been the one to watch this year. Paired with Carlos Gu, the former footballer has been blitzing the ballroom.
While she missed out on a perfect 40 in Blackpool Week, her paso doble made them surge at the bookies.
Now, Karen and Carlos are behind only George Clark and Alexis Warr, with bookies’ odds of 7/4.
However, it hasn’t been an easy journey to get to this point. Karen’s career as a football pundit might be extraordinary, but it doesn’t come without its drawbacks…
‘That crushed my confidence’
As a female football pundit, Karen has been on the receiving end of extreme online abuse. Back in 2020, after a post wished “cancer, leukaemia and rape” on her, the FA appealed for police and TV companies to take action.
Things reached a new level back in December 2020. Karen’s comments on Leeds United led to a flood of sexist and abusive posts. Consequently, she deleted her X account, but it’s clear the comments stayed with her.
“That crushed my confidence,” she told The Guardian. “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.”
She added that the barrage of abuse made it feel like “the whole world was caving in on me. I’ve never experienced anything like it”.
Strictly star Karen Carney’s heartbreaking Caroline Flack comment
In a 2021 interview with BT Sport (via The Guardian), Karen opened up further about this incident. She admitted that it made her suicidal.
“I came off air and got in the car and remember saying to the guy who drives us home: ‘It’s kicking off,’ and I felt physically sick,” she said.
She added: “It was relentless. I can’t even describe it. People that know me know this is the job we do and choose to do it, but I’m low-key, a simple girl who loves football. I don’t want to be bombarded on social media platforms. It wasn’t for one hour, it was for three or four days and now it still comes up, people still send me abuse.”
Karen then drew comparisons to Caroline Flack, admitting that she had similar thoughts. “The only way I could make them understand was to say: ‘Do you want another Caroline Flack on your hands?’ Because that night that’s how I felt, and in that moment I could understand why she did what she did, because I could have gone to that place,” she explained.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, contact The Samaritans on 116 123. They are available for free at any time.
Strictly has helped ‘rebuild’ Karen’s confidence
In the same interview with The Guardian, Karen has also admitted that Strictly has restored the confidence she lacked.
The former Lioness said she will be “forever grateful” for the show, stating that “it is rebuilding me”.
Following last weekend’s jive, Karen admitted she was “overwhelmed”, explaining she was “blown away by so much positivity”.
Head to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you thought of this story. We want to hear your thoughts!