Strictly Come Dancing announces winner for 2025 series as Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman say farewell
Victory comes amid emotional episode celebrating legendary hosts, who are stepping away from their presenting duties after two decades
Karen Carney and her partner Carlos Gu have been crowned the champions of Strictly Come Dancing 2025.
Carney, the first female football player to take part in the series, competed against YouTuber George Clarke and former Love Island star Amber Davies in a tear-jerking grand final, which aired on Saturday night (20 December).
In the final, the couple’s showstopping closing routine – a football-inspired jive to “One Way or Another” by Blondie – received full marks of 40, while their Argentine tango to “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds also received a perfect score. The final results were decided by a public vote.
Carney was speechless after their win was announced, telling hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly: “I cannot believe it. I want to say thank you to everybody who has supported my journey.”
Turning to Gu, she said: “Thank you to this wonderful gentleman, we are a team. I could not have done this without you.
“I can’t believe it... I’m literally lost for words, I’m so sorry,” she said.
Gu thanked Carney for “being so incredible this whole journey”.
“You taught me so much. We started as two completely different characters, but we helped each other and we never gave up,” he continued. “Thank you for changing my life.”
Before crowning the series winners, a video tribute was played for departing co-hosts Daly and Winkleman with messages from fans, friends and familiar faces including TV cook Mary Berry.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood later read out a message sent by the Queen which said: “I have often thought that Strictly is not so much a show about dancing as about friendships: the bonds forged, the struggles overcome and the joy shared in undertaking a joint endeavour.
“If that is true, then perhaps yours has been the greatest Strictly partnership of all.
Both hosts appeared emotional as Daly said: “Thank you so much to you all for your lovely words, it has meant the world.
“Thank you for the support you’ve shown over the years.”
Winkleman added: “It’s been an absolute privilege to spend our weekends with you.”
The 38-year-old immediately won over viewers in week one, making her Strictly debut with an energetic jive that catapulted her and Gu straight to the top of the leaderboard.
But when it came to perfecting the posture required for ballroom routines, Carney revealed she was experiencing difficulty as she lives with Scheuermann’s disease, which causes an abnormal curvature of the spine.
Previously on sister show It Takes Two, Carney told host Fleur East that she had really been struggling to correct her posture.
“It’s a real physical challenge,” she said. “Like, it’s really, really hard. I have a posture aid.”
A posture aid is a harness that straps across the upper back to help train muscles that aren’t positioned correctly by engaging the nervous system.
During week seven of the competition, Carney’s pro partner Gu sobbed uncontrollably while expressing pride over the footballer’s progress despite her health condition. That week, Carney received unanimous praise from the judges for her improved posture in her American smooth to “You Don’t Own Me” by Saygrace feat G-Eazy.
Carney’s greatest Strictly moments included a triumphant hip-hop-inspired Couple’s Choice set to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, which showed off her street dance moves and energetic personality. She received a perfect score of 40.
Her other big moments included a Blackpool paso doble that scored 39 and, in the semi-final, she performed the strongest waltz of the series.
Before her Couple’s Choice routine, the star revealed how trolling during her punditry career has impacted her mental health, recalling how one particular unnamed incident “completely knocked my confidence and I’ve not been able to get it back”.
She said the show “has helped my confidence so much... I can be my true, authentic self”.
Carney, nicknamed “the wizard” for her skilful wing play, grew up in Birmingham and was inducted into Birmingham City’s Hall of Fame in 2015, with an English Football Hall of Fame nod following in 2021.
Back in 2019, the Lioness said of her upbringing: “I’m from Birmingham. My mum works at Sainsbury’s, my dad is a firefighter. We keep it real. We know who we are. I don’t need a Bentley. I don’t need a Rolex.”
She has played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Birmingham City and the Lionesses. She is England’s third most-capped player of all time, with 144 caps.
Carney competed at four World Cups, four European Championships and the 2012 London Olympics before retiring in 2019. She was awarded an MBE in 2017 and OBE in 2024 for services to association football.
Since retiring from football, Carney has become the lead female pundit for both men’s and women’s football across ITV and TNT. She also writes columns for The Guardian and BBC Sport and co-hosts the Long Story Short podcast alongside her fellow former Lioness, Jill Scott.
Carney is the first footballer to reach the Strictly final in the show’s history.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks