Copyright walesonline
Karen Carney has received declarations of affection from one of her Strictly Come Dancing colleagues as she revealed how her self-assurance had been 'shattered'. The ex-footballer is amongst the celebrity participants in this year's BBC One dancing competition, beginning her adventure on the programme last month with professional dance partner Carlos Gu. During the previous weekend, Karen performed a cha cha to She's A Lady by Tom Jones from Miss Congeniality with Carlos for the programme's yearly Movie Week edition. She adopted the lead character from the 2000 movie, originally portrayed by Sandra Bullock, and appeared stunning in a glittering pink gown as she moved gracefully across the ballroom. Head judge Shirley Ballas described the performance as "power-packed" and praised Karen's ability to "execute difficult choreography" whilst recommending she should "refine it", with Anton Du Beke saying: "Wow, too much physicality and front-on at times but terrific.", reports the Manchester Evening News . The pair ultimately received 25 points from a potential 40 from the judging panel, positioning her near the foot of the scoreboard, despite achieving higher marks in earlier weeks - including making history as the first footballer in 18 years to lead the Strictly rankings. Last Saturday, during Icons week saw her and Carlos dancing the Rumba to Think Twice by Celine Dion, which the judges gave a score of 28 out of 40 points. Making her way to the Clauditorium with Carlos, Karen was told by presenter Claudia Winkleman that she did an ‘excellent job’. Karen replied: "Thank you, as they mentioned down there, there's about eight different walks. Sorry, I'm a bit gutted. It does happen but he saved it so, well done you (Carlos)." Karen has been discussing how taking part in Strictly is helping restore her confidence following challenging recent years, explaining how she endured online harassment after working tirelessly to secure a position on Match of the Day. Speaking to Anita Rani on Woman's Hour, the former Lioness said: "The last five or six years, my confidence has been really knocked. I was on one of the best shows I'd dreamed about and my mum said she was so proud of me when she hard the news. It was on Match of the Day and I had a panic attack as I was doing a clip. "I couldn't breathe and the anxiety and everything that had came on top of me, came on top of me in that show and I was so upset because I'd worked so hard to try and get on Match of the Day for the first time and I felt I was the best version of myself. "It completely shattered by confidence and it was really hard. It's really hard for me to talk to you about it and I try and move forward and look towards the positive side of things but it definitely changed who I was and who I am. I just haven't been able to get out of that." Speaking of Strictly, she added: "I love this show and I love everyone that's a part of it. Everyone is amazing. Behind the scenes are so supportive and encouraging and I just thought if you're going to rip the band aid off and really try rebuild your confidence - which sounds bizarre by going on the biggest show in the country and totally doing things out of your comfort zone - but that was the only way I thought I could do it and it feels safe because of everyone involved in the show." Karen said: "Walking down the stairs the other day, doing the Cha Cha was massively out of my comfort zone and I was really proud of that for me. I just want to get that back and show people I'm happy, I'm smiling, I'm living my best life and living my dream and I'm grateful to be part of this amazing show every week." When a snippet of Karen's chat with Anita appeared on the Woman's Hour Instagram account, her Strictly colleague Vicky Pattison was amongst the first to react, writing: "So real, so relatable, so inspiring. Love you @kazcarney. Keep shining." Karen also left a message on the post, saying: "Thank you for having me on yesterday," before being inundated with messages of encouragement.
