Strictly Come Dancing 2025 winner Karen Carney has explained why her win means so much more, saying it's "bigger than a glitter ball". Taking place on Saturday night, the final saw Karen and her professional dance partner Carlos Gu take home the coveted Glitterball Trophy.
Following a public vote, the pair were crowned this year's winners, beating YouTuber George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Love Island star Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin to the top spot.
Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands, the former Lioness, who is from Solihull and played for Birmingham City FC, thanked listeners, saying: "I just want to say thank you to everyone, you've been great, supporting both me and Carlos, and you've helped make my dreams come true."
She added: "I never thought I would win it, and I certainly still can't believe that it's actually happened, because it was just such a joy for me to be on the show.
"In the final on Saturday I just went for it, had the time of my life, just gave absolutely everything, celebrated every moment and I didn't think about anything else, it just feels so surreal."
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As the first footballer to ever win the show, Karen said she hoped that her win would inspire children to follow their dreams.
"I'm a normal girl from Birmingham that just followed her passion and dreams and never thought any of it would come true," she said.
"Strictly is much bigger than a glitter ball, when you hear little girls and boys... they're saying they could do whatever they want, it just means everything," she added.
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After their win on Saturday, Karen said: "I can't believe it. I want to say thank you to everybody who has supported our journey... It's been the biggest privilege and honour."
Carlos added: "Thank you Karen Carney – I love you. Thank you for being so incredible this whole journey. You have taught me so much. We are two different characters but we challenge and help each other. We never give up. Thank you for changing my whole life."
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
