Karen Carney Reveals Struggles with Heels Ahead of Strictly Final

Former England footballer Karen Carney has opened up about the challenges she faced while preparing for the final of Strictly Come Dancing 2025. As she and her dance partner, Carlos Gu, aim for the coveted Glitterball trophy, Carney revealed that her attempts to bypass a key show regulation were met with stern warnings from the BBC.

In a candid conversation with Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill on the “Gold Minds” podcast, Carney expressed her discomfort with the high-heeled shoes required for her performances. Despite delivering an impressive opening week performance, she admitted that her success was aided by her choice to wear flat shoes during her initial dance. “I think the Jive, the first dance, even the shoes were like football boots,” she explained. “So it was really comfortable and I was really comfortable in them… like, the last three dances, I’ve been in heels.”

The conversation took a lighter turn as Ennis-Hill, a retired Olympic champion, asked Carney about the struggles of dancing in heels. “I was watching you thinking, how do you dance in heels now, are your feet in pieces after?” Carney responded honestly, acknowledging the pain associated with the footwear. “Oh yeah, honestly, that in itself is like… my heels for last week didn’t come until the day before, so I’d only had a bit of time with them.”

Carney disclosed that she had “begged” the show’s producers to allow her to perform in her comfortable black shoes for one dance. The response was clear: if she opted for the black shoes, she and Carlos would face lower scores from the judges. “I was like, begging, I was like, ‘oh I hope they don’t come.’ And they were like, ‘if you wear your black shoes, which would look horrendous, you will get marked down,'” she recounted.

Despite the challenges posed by the heels, Carney has captivated audiences and judges alike with her performances. Her journey on the show has also been a personal one, as she has grappled with confidence issues over the years. “For probably 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,” she shared. “Part of me was like, ‘if I could ever get the opportunity to throw myself into what I felt would be my heart, I knew that Strictly would be the thing that would fix me.'”

As the competition heats up, Carney and Gu will face off against George Clarke and his partner Alexis Warr, as well as Amber Davies and her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin, in the final showdown. The Strictly Come Dancing final airs on December 2, 2025, at 19:00 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer.

As the contestants prepare to showcase their final routines, the emotional and physical challenges of the competition are highlighted through Carney’s experience. The final promises to deliver not only stunning performances but also a celebration of resilience and passion for dance.