Former England Lionesses footballer Karen Carney has topped the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final leaderboard with a joint score of 78 for her two dances.
Carney and her professional dance partner Carlos Gu scored 39 for their waltz to One Moment In Time by Whitney Houston, and another 39 for their salsa to Turn The Beat Around by Vicki Sue Robinson, during Saturday’s episode of the BBC dancing programme.
The pair were moved to tears after their first performance, with the judges also becoming emotional, as Carney remarked: “I just love this guy.”
Judge Anton Du Beke said of the waltz: “I got a bit emotional, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, I never thought you would be capable of doing that, I never thought for a second you could dance like that.
“I know what you can do, you can do crash bang wallop, I never thought you could do that quality, that softness, that sensitivity.”
Former Chelsea midfielder Carney, whose mother watched on from the crowd, will become the first footballer in Strictly history to make the final if she goes through in Sunday’s results show, having already become the first footballer to reach the show’s semi-final.
Reality TV star Amber Davies and her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin were second, after they scored 37 for their tango to Michael Buble’s Higher, and a perfect score of 40 for their couple’s choice to Raye’s cover of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, giving them a total score of 77.
Head judge Shirley Ballas said the tango was “bang on point” but said she would have liked “a little bit of passion”, but Mabuse said her second performance was one of the best the show has seen.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood said of the first dance: “There wasn’t actually that much wrong with it, I’ve got to say, I would have liked maybe a little bit more of a wide frame, you know, bit more air between your chest and stuff, but it was clean, it was passionate, it was full of purpose.”
In third, social media star George Clarke and US partner Alexis Warr scored 35 for their samba to Volare by Gipsy Kings, and scored 37 for their Charleston to Yolanda Be Cool’s We No Speak Americano, giving them a total score of 72.
Judge Motsi Mabuse said: “It was just perfect in the entertainment sense, I mean, that song is iconic, and somebody told you whatever goes wrong, shake them hips.
“You were shaking and shaking, you were entertaining, you were cheeky, you did not have fear.”
EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal and Australian dancer Julian Caillon scored 35 for their salsa to Gloria Estefan’s Rhythm Is Gonna Get You and Get On Your Feet, and 35 for their waltz to Michael Buble’s At This Moment, which saw Sopal slip on her skirt, giving them a total score of 70.
Amber Davies performing on the show (Guy Levy/BBC/PA)
After their first dance Callion told Sopal “no stress” with Mabuse saying it gave “rhythm and more”.
Ballas said: “I’m a little bit in shock. I mean, excuse me, dance, husband, did you see the wonderful some of the positions that you did were absolutely outstanding, immaculate, timing, precision.”
Strictly’s results show will air on Sunday at 7.45pm where Revel Horwood will have the casting vote on who remains in the competition.
