![\"For](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_276157247-1eae.jpg\")
\n\t\tA new name is waiting to be written on the Glitter Ball trophy (Picture: Kieron McCarron\/BBC\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tA new name is waiting to be written on the Glitter Ball trophy (Picture: Kieron McCarron\/BBC\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
Key Points<\/p>\n
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A new celebrity has emerged as the new favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing after a perfect score of 40 on Saturday<\/p>\n
This person\u2019s consistent performance places their odds at 1\/2, ahead of a former favourite who\u2019s now at 7\/4, with others trailing behind<\/p>\n
The semi-final is next week, with the final in two weeks, with five celebrities all aiming to make it into the last three of the competition <\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tCreated with AI assistance. Quality assured by Metro editors.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The race for the Glitterball Trophy is hotting up on Strictly Come Dancing<\/a> \u2013 and it seems a new favourite has emerged with just weeks to go.<\/p>\n After receiving a perfect score of 40 from the judges on Saturday, Karen Carney<\/a> and her dance partner, Carlos Gu<\/a>, are apparently in prime position to win.<\/p>\n The football pundit and former England international<\/a>, 38, has made steady progress during this year\u2019s competition and has scored 79 points across her last two dances.<\/p>\n She and Carlos were both in tears even before receiving a maximum score on Saturday, with Carlos expressing his pride and gratitude towards Karen.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tGet personalised updates on Strictly\t\t\t<\/p>\n Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro\u2019s TV Newsletter.<\/p>\n Sign up to our newsletter<\/a> and then select your show in the link we\u2019ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.<\/p>\n The old sporting adage goes that it\u2019s a marathon, not a sprint, and Karen appears to be hitting her best stride just as the final comes into view.<\/p>\n Now it appears the public is getting on board, and bookmakers are following suit, with Karen overtaking George Clarke in the odds for Strictly 2025 winner.<\/p>\n \t\t BetMGM<\/a> currently has Karen at 1\/2 to lift the trophy, with her closest challenger, George, now further out at 7\/4, with Lewis Cope next up on 8\/1.<\/p>\n A step further out is Amber Davies<\/a> at 50\/1, while Balvinder Sopal\u2019s dance-off heroics are expected to finally come to an end on Sunday, with her at 2\/9 with some bookmakers to be eliminated next. <\/p>\n Dan Towse, BetMGM\u2019s brand director, has said: \u2018George Clarke had been the Strictly favourite pretty much since the opening night, but it\u2019s all changed as we approach the business end.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t \u2018Karen Carney has improved week-on-week, and she\u2019s now surpassed Clarke in the betting, with the former England women\u2019s footballer odds-on at 1\/2.\u2019<\/p>\n According to OddsChecker, which aggregates various bookmakers odds, Karen has jumped to 4\/6 on, while George has dropped to second with new odds of 5\/2.<\/p>\n If Karen were to win, she would become the first former footballer in Strictly history to do so, and the first sportsperson of any kind to win the competition since gymnast Louis Smith in 2012.<\/p>\n Before that, only former cricketers Darren Gough and Mark Ramprakash had been victorious after coming to Strictly Come Dancing from a professional sport.<\/p>\n \t\t The first former footballer to enter the competition was John Barnes, who finished seventh in 2007, while Robbie Savage, Alex Scott, and Tony Adams<\/a> each finished sixth, fifth, and ninth, respectively.<\/p>\n Last year, former Arsenal<\/a> player and current TV pundit Paul Merson<\/a> made it to week four of the competition but was still eliminated in 12th place after achieving a highest score of just 23.<\/p>\n Metro columnist Adam Miller made a bold call after the opening night of the Strictly 2025 series<\/a>, saying Karen would outperform every former footballer in the show\u2019s history.<\/p>\n \u2018[During week one]\u00a0Claudia Winkleman<\/a>\u00a0revealed it had been 18 years since a footballer topped the Strictly leaderboard. Karen broke that curse in week one.<\/p>\n \u2018She chose football [over dance as a child], and became one of the best players in the world. Karen is still the dark horse of the competition\u2026 \u00a0I predict she could easily become the front-runner in no time at all.\u2019<\/p>\n Watch Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday, December 6 at 6.50pm on BBC One.<\/p>\n Got a story?<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"For](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_276157340-5bab.jpg\")
\n\t\tKaren Carney was given a whopping 40 out of 40 on Saturday (Picture: Kieron McCarron\/BBC\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n![\"Karen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_272679247-528d.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe British public\u2019s new favourite? (Picture: BBC\/Guy Levy)<\/p>\n![\"For](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_276149266-1f68.jpg\")
\n\t\tGeorge Clarke has dropped down to second on the leaderboard (Picture: Kieron McCarron\/BBC\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n![\"For](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_276157250-bf3e.jpg\")
\n\t\tCould Karen be the first footballer to lift the Glitterball Trophy? (Picture: Kieron McCarron\/BBC\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
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