Karen Carney has opened up about struggling with her mobility while dancing with Carlos Gu on the show.
She suffers from spinal disorder Schuermann’s disease, which can cause back pain and movement issues.
She told the Mirror: “
“I’ve always remained that I’m happy, I’m healthy, and it’s never stopped me from doing what I want to do. I just want to show that I might not be the perfect dancer. I will not have the perfect posture, but I’ll certainly give it my best. Dancing is always about joy; it’s how much fun you have and how much joy you can bring to the audience. I think if you can achieve that, that’s the whole point.
“I’ve had it for years and I coped with it in football. I adapted and found a way.
“So it’s a challenge for me to adapt and find ways in something that’s very unfamiliar to me in the dancing world. But I think we’ve had some really good advice and really good support to try and make that easier for me and we work on it.
“My back is very stiff, mobility-wise it’s very restrictive and I’ll be open and honest about that. But it doesn’t mean I won’t try and work on things, it doesn’t mean I won’t try and help improve my mobility and Carlos has been very, very, very supportive, emotionally as well, to try and help me.”