Strictly’s Karen Carney praises “fantastic” Carlos Gu as he becomes emotional over potential history-making win

Carlos Gu could become the first Asian man in Strictly Come Dancing history to lift the Glitterball trophy, should he and Karen Carney win the programme this year.

It would be an incredible achievement for the dancer, who joined the programme in 2022 and has since won over the hearts of his celebrity partners and the nation. Indeed, the thought of winning the show gets the star rather emotional.

During a press conference ahead of Saturday night's show, a question was posed to the dancer, asking what it would mean for representation if he were to become "the first openly gay man to lift the trophy [and] the first Asian man to lift the trophy." However, Gu was unable to answer due to growing emotional at the thought.

Over the last three months, he and Karen Carney have blown audiences away with their performances week in and week out, and Carney stepped in for the Strictly star, singing his praises as she so often does.

"He is obviously emotional about that," Carney told press including RadioTimes.com. "Carlos is amazing person, and for me, [that's] the most important thing as a partner...He's a wonderful person. He's [a] fantastic dancer."

Carney joked that she's "glad someone else has made him cry", adding: "I've said earlier, it's [Strictly] is much more than just dancing."

Last weekend, both Carney and Gu became emotional during their semi-final performance, in which they performed a Waltz to One Moment in Time by Whitney Houston.

During their performance, the pro began to tear up as Karen comforted him, before they both began to cry even more once their dance came to an end.

Speaking of the moment, Karen explained: "I saw him kind of wobbling and I was going, and I was like 'This feels so nice'. I want to thank the costume team because they've made me feel so beautiful."

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"I wanted us to do this dance for each other and for the journey we have had," Carlos added as he began to cry further.

The tears only continued after they scored 39 points from the judges, which Carlos said was "unbelievable".
The pair currently sit at the top of the leaderboard with 78 points, with their other performance on the night also receiving 39 points.

Strictly Come Dancing concludes on Saturday 20th December at 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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