Strictly champion Karen Carney returns to dancefloor with partner Carlos Gu

Reigning Strictly Come Dancing champion Karen Carney has returned to the dance floor with her professional partner Carlos Gu.The former professional footballer, 39, won the last season of the show – and is now set to show off her moves again.During Saturday night’s launch show of the new season, Carney and Gu will recreate the jive they performed on the first week they competed, with the dance performed to One Way or Another by Blondie.Reigning Strictly Come Dancing champions Karen Carney and Carlos Gu are returning to the dancefloor (Guy Levy/BBC)They also later performed it in the finale.First look photos released ahead of the launch show the pair back in their football kit costumes, giving it their all on the dancefloor during the routine.In one shot, Carney is seen cheering at the camera while Gu laughs and they are covered in streamers that have been dropped over them from above.They will be performing the jive they kicked off last season with (Guy Levy/BBC)Another photo shows them standing next to new host Emma Willis, with the trio laughing and looking out into the studio audience.Other photographs taken during the recording of the launch show see Willis alongside her new co-hosts Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe.Emma Willis with Carney and Gu (Guy Levy/BBC)One sees them standing in a line posing on the steps of the dancefloor, with her and Radebe holding hands and smiling nervously while Widdicombe looks shocked.Another sees them forming a circle and holding each other, while one of the other snaps sees them posing together in the “Clauditorium”, holding cue cards with the show’s logo printed on them.Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe (Guy Levy.BBC)That area of the studio – upstairs above the dancefloor where the dance partners are interviewed after their performances and receive their scores – was named after former host Claudia Winkleman, who exited the series last year alongside co-host Tess Daly.Read MoreApart from the changes in the hosting line-up, the 2026 season of Strictly also features five new professional dancers – Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita.The trio are the new hosts of the BBC series (Guy Levy/BBC)First look photos also show them taking part in a group number with the rest of the pros.One shows them posing together atop a structure, with a huge glitterball hanging underneath them and the fellow pros on different levels around them.There will be five new professional dancers joining this season (Guy Levy/BBC)All dressed in red, they also pose in a shot that shows them close up in the studio.Another shows all the celebrities dressed in sparkles, standing in two lines on the dancefloor.The pairings of the celebrities and pro dancers will be revealed during the launch show (Guy Levy/BBC)For the first time ever, each celebrity and pro will discover the identity of their partner in front of the Strictly studio audience via three specially-choreographed group dance routines.The celebrity contestants this season include former Love Island winner Dani Dyer-Bowen, actress Melanie Walters, former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Australian singer Delta Goodrem.They will be joined by actress Lacey Turner, celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton, Love Island winner Cach Mercer, presenter Will Best, Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, actress Jaime Winstone, actress Bethany Antonia, dog trainer and presenter Graeme “The Dogfather” Hall, Emmerdale’s Lawrence Robb, Olympian Tabby Stoecker and sports content creator John Nellis.Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer at tomorrow, Saturday 19 September, at 7.25pm.