Strictly star calls out Karen Carney’s secret training amid ‘false claim’ she’s a novice

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has called out a “narrative” on the recent series of the show which left viewers unaware of winner Karen Carney’s dancing past

Strictly Come Dancing winner Karen Carney has been called out by an ex professional following her victory on Saturday.

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James Jordan has called out the “false narrative” surrounding the former footballer by insisting she has had dance training.

The Lioness, 38, lifted the Glitterball Trophy during the grand final, beating West End star Amber Davies and YouTuber George Clarke to victory.

Throughout the series’ run, much had been made of the fact that Amber had a vast amount of experience thanks to her impressive career in theatre, but James, who was a professional on the programme from 2006 until 2013, has pointed out that viewers were led to believe that Karen had no dance training and insisted that was not the case.

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James Jordan has called out the ‘narrative’ Strictly viewers were fed about Karen Carney(Image: ITV)

During an appearance on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, he said: “Well she had danced from the age of three to 16 in street dance and she also used to compete in it. But the narrative we were led to believe was that she was a non-dancer. I think they were brilliant and I I was so happy for Carlos that they won but please don’t think you can be that good and not be a trained dancer.

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Karen Carney and Carlos Gu won this year’s Strictly Come Dancing (Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Guy Levy)

“When she came out, week one, she did the double-spin in the air and landed it. None of us can do that. So I’m just putting it out there that the narrative was that she wasn’t [trained].”

It was then that host Ed Balls argued that Karen had developed those skills as a child before becoming a footballer, but James, who appeared alongside former co-star Pasha Kovalev ahead of their 2026 tour, insisted that all that training would have stayed with her.

He added: “She did have a hard time and I felt so sorry for her. If you train as a child, it stays in you. That’s the time when you want to learn it. I just think there needs to be a level because how can you be a non-dancer on the show competing against someone how is professional, or very, very trained? Strictly is supposed to be about taking someone who is not a dancer and watching them go through the journey.”

James was actually backing George for the title of winner, who had no dance experience whatsoever, and suggested that a new system could be put in place in order to combat the issue of trained contestants whilst also allowing room for those who have no skills to begin with.

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James was a professional on the show from 2006 until 2013 (Image: PA)

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He added: “Like, George. That’s why I wanted him to win. I’m not saying I’m right because the public are never wrong but I just felt sorry for Amber really because she was getting such a hard time being trolled. She was a fully-trained dancer, but she’s not gonna say no.

“It’s not like I’m saying I wanted Karen to be trolled, but she was also a trained dancer! Maybe there needs to be a handicap system to help the people who aren’t trained dancer, because we don’t wanna watch 15 Ann Widdecombes either, no one wants to see that! But you want them in the show!”

James recently defended Amber, who has starred in musicals like Pretty Woman, The Great Gatsby and is due to take on the leading role of Elle Woods in next year’s nationwide tour of Legally Blonde, even though he thought it “defeated the object of the show” by having a trained dancer compete.

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He told The Mirror: “”Amber’s getting so much grief on social media. Yes, she’s a trained dancer, and you could argue, and I kind of agree. I don’t think the premise of Strictly is about having fully trained dancers on Strictly. I personally prefer would prefer watching people maybe with a little bit of dance training. Of course, you can’t get away from that fact, but having someone that’s a fully trained dancer kind of defeats the object of the show.

“But it’s not her fault. So don’t don’t troll her. Don’t be horrible to the poor girl. She’s doing the best she can, and she’s producing amazing dancing week on week. And it still has to be fair. “