Karen Hardy

**Karen Hardy** was a professional dancer on *Strictly* and former segment lead on *It Takes Two*.

## Biography

Hardy started dancing aged five in her home town of Bournemouth, and competed in the United States for two years from the age of 18 winning both East and West Coast amateur championship titles.

She returned to the UK in 1990 after two years in America where she teamed up with new partner Mark Lunn. It only took 6 months before they broke into the finals worldwide, representing England.

Hardy turned professional in August 1994, after being asked to partner South African dancer Bryan Watson. They were highly successful from 1995-1999. In January 1995, they entered the Professional Final of the Pioneer United Kingdom Open Championship finishing fourth. Their progress to the top continued over the coming year going from fourth to last. The couple won the Carl Alan Award for services to the dance world, and were named the most outstanding Latin American couple in 1995 by the Ballroom Dancers' Federation. During their 5-year partnership they were World Masters, Osaka World Trophy, United Kingdom Open, International Open, British National, Italian Open, London Open, Yankee Classic Professional Latin American Champions.

Discussing her success, she writes: "To create a step and then see it copied around the world is an indescribable reward. They don't come any more dedicated and focused than Bryan, and that's why we were able to break what had been set in stone for so long."

Hardy retired from competitive dancing in 1999 and moved into coaching. She was named Teacher of the Year in 2002 and 2003 at the Crystal Palace Dance Championships. She is also an adjudicator and now judges all of the Grand Slam events worldwide which she had previously competed in and more. She is a Senior Commentator for EuroSport DanceSport series. Hardy also co-hosts as the Master of Ceremonies in the International Open to the World Championships held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Hardy participated in the television series *Faking It* (Series 4) for Channel 4. Along with Paul Harris, they mentored a young female boxer to become a Latin American dancer.

After seven years retirement from competitions, Hardy first appeared in Strictly's third series partnered with journalist and presenter Bill Turnbull, in the 2005 Christmas show with former World Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield, and won the 2006 series with cricketer Mark Ramprakash. She danced in the 2007 series with actor Brian Capron. They were eliminated in the first round.

In July 2017, Hardy completed filming the DVD "*Strictly Come Dancersize*" with Erin Boag. The DVD went on general release on December 4, 2017.

In the 2008 series, Hardy partnered chef Gary Rhodes. They were knocked out in Week 3.

In 2011, she appeared on the BBC red button service, giving live commentary on the dancing, a role she continued in 2012. From 2011 to 2017, Hardy returned to the Strictly family as a regular segment presenter on *It Takes Two*, with her Tuesday night slot "Choreography Corner", which has essentially become a review of the previous Saturday night show. Initially, the focus of the segment was on specific pieces of interesting choreography.

### Trivia

* The Daily Mail newspaper reported that Hardy had been "axed" from Strictly on August 4, 2009, although many ballroom fans suspected that she had retired from the show voluntarily to concentrate on her new dance school. She has since said that she left due to Gary Rhodes work commitments he was unable to train much and so each week they would be struggling to do the routines. This caused arguments due to frustration on both sides which she didn't like causing her to "fall out of Love" with it.