Semi final bound for Kaz Carney!

In this week’s musicals special, Karen and Carlos danced a sensational samba inspired by the musical Sweet Charity, which ultimately (alongside the public vote) earnt them a place in next week’s semi-final show!

Reflecting on last Saturday night’s incredible Couple’s Choice, Karen said she “felt very emotional” and that at times it was a “challenge for [her] to hold it together”. Then, talking about the Instant Dance, she admitted that “[her] cha cha was terrible”, but laughed it off saying “at least [she owns] it”. 

Considering Sweet Charity is Carlos’ favourite musical, both the pair were very excited to perform on Saturday night. In the introduction, Karen commented that the dance was “very challenging for [her]”, and Carlos said that this is to do with the samba having “the most complex rhythm”, but he also said that he has “faith and confidence in her” for this dance. 

After they had performed, Shirley stated that she loved “the whole production of it” and that Karen’s “sense of balance [...] is absolutely off the chart”. She finished off by saying that she is “quite the force to be reckoned with”. Anton commented that “if you’re going to do a samba [...] choose musicals week and absolutely throw everything on it.” Craig complimented the dance, saying that he thought it would “relieve everyone of their winter blues”, but he also said that it was “a little stiff in the body.” Finally, Motsi said that the dance was “so difficult and [Karen] pulled it off” and that her “solo spots were so so strong”. 

With Claudia, Karen said that in the dance she was “trying to shake what [her] mumma gave [her]” and that she was “happy” with how the dance went. Carlos also complimented Karen saying that she “gave it everything”. 

The couple also received a message from ex-footballer Ian Wright, who said “[Karen is] one of the best dancers [he’s] ever seen” on Strictly and that everyone is “so proud of [her]”. 

In terms of the judges' scores, Craig and Mosti awarded the pair an eight each, whereas Shirley and Anton gave them nines. This resulted in them earning a total score of 34 points, which placed them at the bottom of the leaderboard (although Lewis Cope, George Clarke and Balvinder Sopal were all tied second on 35 points). 

Thankfully, Karen and Carlos’ position on the leaderboard did not matter when it came to the public vote, as they have been put through to the semi-finals next weekend. Instead, it was Lewis Cope and his partner Katya Jones that were eliminated from the competition this week, after they faced off against West-End star Amber Davies and her partner Nikita Kuzmin in the dance off (where the judges voted unanimously to save her). 

Tune in next week to see which dances Karen and Carlos will perform in the semi-final of the competition!