Former Lioness Karen Carney, YouTuber creator George Clark, and Love Islander Amber Davies will battle it out to lift Strictly Come Dancing’s Glitterball Trophy later today
The Strictly Come Dancing finalists are preparing to grace the ballroom one last time this weekend as they compete for the coveted Glitterball Trophy. Last week’s semi-final witnessed an emotional victory for Amber Davies, who survived the nail-biting dance-off against EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal.
The former Love Islander’s triumph, alongside professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, secured their place in the grand finale. They’ll face off against YouTuber George Clarke with his partner Alexis Warr, plus ex-Lioness Karen Carney and her dancer Carlos Gu.
Before the spectacular finale, the Strictly celebrities joined BBC Radio 2’s Scott Mills to rally fan support. During Wednesday’s programme, an eagle-eyed listener shared how judge Anton Du Beke’s solo performance – Christmas with Anton Du Beke – may have dropped a major clue about the potential 2025 Strictly winner.
Reading listener messages, Scott revealed: “Nicky says, ‘Please tell Karen and Carlos they won the audience clapometer by a huge amount at Anton Du Beke’s Christmas show last night in Coventry’. Maybe that’s a good sign? Who knows.”
Karen, who has made history as the first footballer to reach the Strictly final, boasts an impressive record with 144 England caps and five Great Britain appearances at the London 2012 Olympics. Despite her stellar footballing achievements, she believes her sporting background hasn’t necessarily given her an advantage on the dance floor, reports Wales Online.
When quizzed about whether her sporting background aided her Strictly journey, Karen responded: “No. It’s nothing like that at all. Maybe the fitness, stamina side, but I’ve still had to re-figure that out, I’ve been retired for six years.”
She continued: “I’ll keep going and keep going and keep going and I look at Carlos and he’s thinking, ‘Again, really?’ It takes me so long to get the routine, and the steps and everything so I just keep going.”
Karen confessed she would even practise the weekend’s routine while waiting for interviews, leading Carlos to jest that she should “have a day off”. Karen added: “I think that’s something, repetition and giving it absolutely everything, I will guarantee that for Carlos.”
Carlos, the professional dancer, described his experience with the former Chelsea winger as “a dream”, stating: “That’s a dream, she will do absolutely anything I ask for, the best thing that has happened to me.”
The grand finale of Strictly Come Dancing is set to air from 7pm tonight (December 20) on BBC One.
This episode will also mark the end of an era as presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman bid farewell to the series, announcing their departure.
“We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time,” the dynamic duo shared in a social media statement.
“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.”
