Karen Carney and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink take on the Strictly Come Dancing Ballroom

Former Lioness and current pundit Karen ‘Kaz’ Carney shone in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom on Saturday night with the launch of the show’s 23rd series, alongside former Chelsea Men’s player Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Ahead of the next show where all the contestants will perform their first dances with their partners, football and Strictly fans alike were able to get an insight into how the celebrities are feeling ahead of their first live performances!

Filmed in advance, last weekend’s show is designed to introduce the celebrities, build a buzz for the new seasons, but perhaps most importantly to reveal which of the professional dancers each of the celebrities will be partnered with to take them as far as they can on their dancing journey. 

Karen Carney’s impressive England career was highlighted in her introduction video, showing her 144 caps for the Lionesses and her now successful career as a pundit. It was then revealed that she will be taking on her dancing journey with professional dancer Carlos Gu. This will be Carlos’ fourth year on the show and Karen will be his third partner; in series 20, Carlos led actor Molly Rainford to the final - where they were runners-up to wildlife photographer and presenter Hamza Yassin and his partner Jowita Przystał - and in series 21, he was partnered with television presenter Angela Scanlon and they were eliminated in week 10. Carlos’ previous success on the show could bode well for Karen and it will be interesting to see how the two of them will perform together in next week’s first live show. 

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, though with an equally impressive footballing career, had an introduction more focused on his family as two of his daughters are on their way to becoming professional dancers themselves. Having played for many prestigious clubs such as Chelsea and Real Madrid, he is a well known figure in the footballing world and is even remembered by his partner Lauren Oakley’s family as having put five goals past Aston Villa, the club that they support. Having been partnered with Lauren for the new season, Jimmy said he hit the ‘jackpot’. Lauren, like Carlos, also joined the Strictly cast in their 20th series, but was not given a partner until the following season, where she was partnered with Krishnan Guru-Murphy who ultimately came in 8th place. She also partnered JLS star JB Gill after fellow professional Amy Dowden was too ill to continue participating. The pair eventually made it to last year’s final and only lost out to Chris Macausland, eventually becoming the runners-up. Considering how pleased Jimmy was to be partnered with Lauren, it will be a joy to see him properly perform next week with her for the first time. 

Tune in next Saturday on BBC One to see how these players will perform in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom!