Karen Carney blew fans away on Strictly Come Dancing with her jive in the first week, cementing her as one of the standout stars. After a few weeks in the wilderness, the star returned to near the top of the leaderboard with her Argentine Tango, and she's been riding high ever since, making it all the way to the final.
However, speaking to HELLO! and other media at a press conference ahead of the final, the former Lioness, who becomes the first footballer to make the Strictly final, opened up about the emotional impact of the show and how it's helped to restore her confidence, after her career was hit by vicious trolls.
Karen, 38, explained: "I joined the show because [I'm a] massive fan, and I think I've badgered everyone enough about how much I love the show. For the last five or six years, I've been open and honest about how I've been crushed quite a lot in terms of my confidence, and I couldn't figure out how to fix that. I thought if I could ever get the opportunity to throw myself in, Strictly would be the thing that would fix me.
"Every Saturday, I'd watch Strictly at home, and I'd just watch it, forget about everything else, fall in love with everybody and enjoy their journeys. I thought if I'd ever got the opportunity to have the privilege to join it, it'd be the safe environment to fix me and help me again, and it absolutely has for me. It's really built my confidence."
She added: "It's by far the happiest I've ever been, I've smiled like I've never smiled before, and I'm forever grateful to the show and to Carlos [Gu – her professional partner] for that. When we dance, I feel like I have a responsibility to give everyone a smile, because I know when I was sat on the sofa, it's helped me. I believe I have that responsibility to give that back to everyone at home."
Despite Karen's emotional words, it was her pro partner Carlos who ended up in tears when speaking with the media. When HELLO! raised the prospect of the professional dancer becoming the first openly gay person and the first Asian to lift the Glitterball, he welled up and became unable to speak. His co-star, Nikita Kuzmin, crossed the room to comfort him during the moment.
Answering for her partner, Karen then said: "He's obviously emotional about that, but Carlos is an amazing person, and that's the most important thing. As a partner and whatever the outcome is for any of us first and foremost, we're people and he's a wonderful person, he's a fantastic dancer."
She then joked: "I'm glad someone else has made him cry."
Throughout the series, Carlos, 32, has been seen getting emotional, especially after dancing last week's waltz with Karen, with the pair earning a near-perfect score for the beautiful routine. Speaking about the moment, Carlos reflected: "Motsi said, 'Through your performances, I can see your courage'. In the performances, sometimes you can't really see this person, you see the darkness itself. I was really shocked she said that, because that's exactly who Karen is.
"She has a sublime level of courage in her, she never gives up, and she never not gives 100%. In the same dance, she said you are exactly who you are in that dance. Them seeing this person in this dance is something just so special, and beyond the technique, beyond the mistakes, beyond everything; because at the end of the day, we're just human beings. It doesn't matter if I dance good, if I dance bed, if I have experience, if I don't, we're human beings."
For the final, Karen and Carlos will be recreating their Halloween Week Argentine Tango and their jive, and they'll also be performing a showdance to Inner Smile by Texas. Speaking about their jive being both their first and their last dance, Carlos said: "I feel like it's the perfect way to end the Strictly journey for us.
"We started with it in week one, and we'll end with it. It was just so fun and unexpected, and we didn't expect anything other than just having a good time. It's perfect for us to go out on that and in the costume. We start as a footballer, and end as a footballer and an amazing dancer."