SHE was used to sliding around a muddy football pitch in boots and shorts, which is why ex-Lioness Karen Carney took a while to adapt to getting sexy for Strictly.
But gliding around the dancefloor in dresses and heels is something which the winger-turned TV pundit says she’s embracing while she’s competing on the BBC One dance contest.
Karen Carney took a while to adapt to getting sexy for Strictly[/caption]
Lioness Karen on the ball for England[/caption]
“You talk about heels and stuff, my sexy was scoring a half volley,” she laughs.
“But you’ve just gotta rip the band aid off and just go for it.”
Karen, who continues her Strictly journey tonight with pro partner Carlos Xu, reveals she had a bit of an epiphany when she recorded her first dance in front of a live studio audience.
She said: “As we go up the stairs, there was a woman and a gentleman, and she was in the most spectacular outfit. And I said hello to her.
“I said, ‘have you been before?’ She goes, ‘no, I’ve waited 10 years for a ticket’.
“And the thing is, when you’re on Strictly, you owe those fans, you owe it to them. You know that that’s the hottest ticket in town.”
Getting glammed up was the least she could do as she embarked on her Strictly journey which got off to a sensational start in week one.
She delivered a mind-blowing jive to the sound of One way or Another by Blondie and found herself at the top of the scoreboard with 31 out of 40 points from the judges, who all heaped praise on her.
This was the first time a footballer had achieved that in 15 years.
The last player to do it was John Barnes, and the fact that she’d broken some sort of record – wearing a football kit – made the victory all the sweeter.
Talking on her Long Story Short podcast, Karen said: “The only way I could describe it was I’ve been retired six years.
“That’s the closest, probably the same I felt if we’d scored a massive goal in football.
“That adrenaline, the crowd and the feeling. And you know, when you’ve played a game where it feels right, that’s how it felt. And I wasn’t prepared for that.
“Shirley Ballas made me really emotional, like really emotional, actually.
“You could see it like took me away.
“I was never prepared for judges or crowd or the Clauditorium.
“So I was prepared to dance.
“But then when I heard that stuff [nice comments], I was overwhelmed.
“I couldn’t really cope with it.
“Thank God, Carlos was there because I just leaned into him.
“It was just a lot, in a nice way.”
But last week her tango to the track training season by Dua Lipa didn’t quite get the same positive reaction from judges, and it happened in week two when viewers have the chance to vote people off the show.
Although the viewer vote mean they avoided them ending up in the bottom two and the dreaded dance off, the judges’ marks plunged to 20 out of 40.
Karen and Carlos on the live show of Strictly[/caption]
But being in football helped her cope with the sudden change in fortunes.
She said: “Sport has taught me, genuinely, not to get to high or too low.
“Topping the leaderboard was amazing and I’m really grateful. But we have to park that.”
Tonight she’ll be dancing the cha cha cha, and because it’s Movie Week their track of choice with be She’s a Lady from the movie Miss Congeniality.
The theme this week is quite apt given that Karen and Carlos have had their own mini drama going on where things got a little messy during rehearsals.
She said: “The rehearsals went horrendous, it was just the day before the first live show.
“There’s a bit where I did a spin, and as I’ve spun and I’ve elbowed him in the nose and it bled.
“That’s my teammate, but he was incredible.
“He tried to carry on and I was like: ‘No, I’ve knocked him there. There’s no way he’s coming back from that’.
“So we had to cancel like our bit and they were like: ‘he can’t dance because if he raises his heart rate it will keep bleeding’
“So then I’ve crashed, I’ve tanked.
“I was really upset that I’d hurt him and obviously Carlos is quite precious isn’t he?
“He’s a little sweetheart, so I’m extra devastated.”
After that they struggled to regain their mojo in rehearsals, so she did what she’s always done and turned to her footballing mates for help.
First she rang up fellow former Lioness Laura Bassett who pinpointed the problem.
She recalled: “She just said: ‘Kaz you were always horrendous match day minus one.
“You were horrendous, you didn’t run, you didn’t move, you didn’t do anything. You were awful.’
“And I was like, hmmm, okay. And she goes: ‘but just turn it on tomorrow’.”
Then she called another footballer, Arsenal’s Kim Little, and explained she was in need of help.
In a triumph for Anglo-Scottish relations, she dropped everything to come to her assistance.
Karen said: “She went, ‘on my way.’ And she just drove straight to me. Like, what do you need? I was like, I need coffee, I need a hug, and I need a drink.
“And she went, bang!, and just got it all, and just sat there and went: ‘Tell me about it….’ So I owe Kim Little a lot. I do. Because I was thinking, don’t go into how I would have done in football, where it would have affected me. I would have been in the hotel thinking about it, thinking about it. That’s where you need people. She literally dropped everything and was like, I’ll be there.
“And she literally had an hour, and then she had to go to Arsenal!”
But despite still having deep ties to football, Karen also reveals that the game and her love of Strictly have always been twin loves in her life.
She said: “Even after games, I’d get in the car and I’d put the iPad on and I’d watch the live show. And on the journey home, I’d be there going: ‘Craig, why are you giving them that score?’ I’d be kicking off massively.
“But it’s so joyous.
“It’s like it’s dark, it’s cold through the winter, and you’re like: ‘What’s my happy place? It’s Strictly.’”
- Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight on BBC One at 6.05pm.
