However it has transpired that, unlike many of the contestants, Karen didn’t start her training completely from scratch for the BBC Saturday night show. The star revealed her dance background in an old interview with the FA – even crediting it with enhancing her football skills. “I enjoyed football when I was a kid and had loads of kickabouts but I didn’t join my first club until I was 11. Until then, it was all about dancing for me,” she said. “We did loads of different routines and genres of music; street dancing, hip-hop, disco, rock ‘n’ roll, slow dancing, team dances.”

 

Karen Carney dancing in front of a goalpost in a dance version of a football strip on Strictly Come Dancing

Karen Carney gave an impressive first performance on Strictly Come Dancing (Image: BBC)

The ITV and TNT sports broadcaster admitted she only gave up dancing due to a change in the scheduling of her football matches.

“When I got a bit older and my football matches switched to a Sunday, I had some choices to make. I decided to give up dancing when I was 15.”

Despite quitting her classes, she claimed the traits she took from dance had stood her in good stead when it came to football.

“My agility, my strength, my power and how I move my feet during a match are all definitely down to dancing, 100 per cent. I was quite little but I was quite strong and that was because all the dancing made my muscles stronger.”

Close up of Karen Carney smiling in a Strictly Come Dancing publicity shot

Karen Carney topped the leadeboard on the first Strictly Come Dancing live show (Image: BBC)

Karen and Carlos topped the leaderboard after the judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel-Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke awarded them 31 points following their jive to Blondie’s One Way Or Another.

Head judge Shirley hailed it the “best dance of the night” and Karen became the first footballer in 18 years to top the week one leaderboard.

Their nearest competition was former Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and his pro Katya Jones who scored 28 points also performing a Jive to Get Ready by The Temptations.

The scores from the opening week will be added to the scores from the show on Saturday October 5 and two couples will face the dreaded dance off with one going home.