Carlos Gu (Chinese: 古堃玄; pinyin: Gǔ Kūnxuán; born January 1993) is a Chinese dancer and choreographer. He is best known for being a professional dancer on the British BBC One television series Strictly Come Dancing since 2022.[1][2][3][4]
Carlos Gu | |
|---|---|
古堃玄 | |
| Born | 1993 (age 31–32) |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Strictly Come Dancing |
Life and career
editGu was born in China in January 1993.[5][2][6] He has competed in numerous competitions and is a Chinese National Champion.[2] Along with his professional partner Susan Sun, he has competed in dance championships in China and around the world.[7][8][9][10]
Strictly Come Dancing
editIn July 2022, it was announced that Gu would become a professional dancer on the 20th series of Strictly Come Dancing, as part of four new professionals joining the show along with Vito Coppola, Lauren Oakley and Michelle Tsiakkas.[11][12] Ahead of joining the show, Gu said "I'm thrilled to join Strictly and very excited to get started. It's a new chapter of my life and a new challenge as well. I'm absolutely ready to take on this journey and to shine."[2][9][13][14][15] He was paired with singer and actress Molly Rainford for his first series and they reached the final, before finishing as the runners-up.[16][17][18] Gu later embarked on the Strictly Come Dancing Live! tour.[19] Gu returned for the 21st series and was paired with television presenter Angela Scanlon; they were eliminated in week 10.[20][21][22][23]
| Series | Partner | Place | Average score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Molly Rainford | 2nd | 35.4 |
| 21 | Angela Scanlon | 6th | 30.5 |
| 23 | Karen Carney | TBA | TBA |
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Smooth | Molly Rainford | 36 | Angela Scanlon | 28 |
| Argentine tango | Angela Scanlon Karen Carney |
38 | Molly Rainford | 33 |
| Cha-cha-cha | Molly Rainford | 35 | Karen Carney | 25 |
| Charleston | Molly Rainford | 38 | Angela Scanlon Karen Carney |
35 |
| Couple's choice | Karen Carney | 40 | Molly Rainford | 30 |
| Foxtrot | Molly Rainford | 35 | ||
| Instant | Karen Carney | 1 | ||
| Jive | Molly Rainford | 35 | Angela Scanlon | 29 |
| Paso doble | Molly Rainford Karen Carney |
39 | Angela Scanlon | 33 |
| Quickstep | Molly Rainford | 39 | Karen Carney | 27 |
| Rumba | Molly Rainford | 39 | Karen Carney | 28 |
| Salsa | ||||
| Samba | Molly Rainford | 31 | Angela Scanlon | 27 |
| Showdance | Molly Rainford | 37 | ||
| Tango | Molly Rainford | 35 | Karen Carney | 20 |
| Viennese waltz | Angela Scanlon | 28 | ||
| Waltz | Molly Rainford | 34 | Angela Scanlon | 33 |
Series 20: with Molly Rainford
edit| Week | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Samba / "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | No elimination |
| 2 | Quickstep / "Love On Top" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 34 | Safe |
| 3 | Waltz / "One Hand, One Heart" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 34 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Do What I Do" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 5 | Couple's Choice / "Chicken Man" | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Bottom two |
| 6 | Argentine Tango / "Running Up That Hill" | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 7 | Foxtrot / "You Make Me Happy" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Bottom two |
| 8 | Rumba / "All the Man That I Need" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 37 | Safe |
| 9 | Jive / "Bandstand Boogie" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Bottom two |
| 10 | Tango / "Bad Guy" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 11 | Charleston / "Hot Honey Rag" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 38 | Bottom two |
| 12 | American Smooth / "Easy on Me" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 36 | Safe |
| Paso Doble / "Survivor" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | ||
| 13 | Quickstep / "Love On Top" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Runner-up |
| Showdance / "Kiss" & "1999" | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 37 | ||
| Rumba / "All the Man That I Need" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | ||
- Green number indicates when Molly & Carlos were at the top of the leaderboard.
- Red number indicates when Molly & Carlos were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Series 21: with Angela Scanlon
edit| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Tango / "Prisoner" | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 23 | No elimination |
| 2 | Jive / "Trouble" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Safe |
| 3 | Charleston / "Who's Got the Pain" | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 4 | Viennese waltz / "You Are the Reason" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 5 | American Smooth / "Cherish" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | Safe |
| 6 | Paso Doble / "BLACK swan SWAN lake" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 7 | Samba / "Ain't It Funny" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 8 | Waltz / "With You I'm Born Again" | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 9 | Argentine Tango / "Back to Black" | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| 10 | Cha-cha-cha / "I Will Survive" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 31 | Eliminated |
- Green number indicates when Angela & Carlos were at the top of the leaderboard.
- Red number indicates when Angela & Carlos were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Series 23: with Karen Carney
edit| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Jive / "One Way or Another" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | No elimination |
| 2 | Tango / "Training Season" | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 20 | Safe |
| 3 | Cha-cha-cha / "She's A Lady" | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 25 | Safe |
| 4 | Quickstep / "Marvelous Party" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 5 | Rhumba / "Think Twice" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 6 | Argentine Tango / "Red Right Hand" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 38 | Safe [24] |
| 7 | Charleston / "Upside Down" | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 35 | Safe[25] |
| 8 | American Smooth / You Don't Own Me | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe[26] |
| 9 | Paso doble / O Fortuna | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | No Elimination |
| 10 | TBA | ||||||
- Green number indicates when Karen & Carlos were at the top of the leaderboard.
Dance tours
editIn spring 2025, Gu toured with fellow Strictly professional Amy Dowden.[27][28] In November 2025, Gu announced his appearance at Dancing With The Stars Weekends 2026.[29]
Personal life
editGu is gay[27][28] and in July 2024 he spoke with Lorraine Kelly on her eponymous ITV show, to come out and to talk about LGBTQ rights in China, saying that homosexuality is not discussed in public there and that that was part of his rationale for moving to the UK, but that his mother was very supportive.[27][28] A year later, speaking to Hello!, he said that he grew up "different from the stereotype of the boys" and came out so that he could be a role model for "more Asian kids, or the kids out there who are still figuring themselves out".[30] He also talked about a culture of homophobia in dance in China,[30] but that he had been able to look up to his own teacher, a gay 9-time world champion, as a positive role model as a teenager.[30]
In 2025, Gu shared his first artwork, titled Reborn, telling Hello! how he had enjoyed drawing and painting, but had been forced to focus on dance as a child.[30] He told Hello! that he started drawing again in 2024 and spent 2 months on Reborn as a meditative piece.[30]
References
edit- ^ "New Strictly Come Dancing pros - all you need to know". Good to Know. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Four new pros join the show in 2022!". BBC. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing Unveils Four New Professional Dancers". HuffPost. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ "20 professional dancers confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing series 20, as four new pros join the line-up". BBC. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Who is Carlos Gu? Meet the Strictly Come Dancing professional". Radio Times. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing: Carlos Gu's age, girlfriend, height and more revealed". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Carlos Gu & Susan Sun at International Dance Shoes". International Dance Shoes. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Carlos Gu and Susan Sun - Solo Chachacha WDC AL Manhheim 2017". Hiptwisted. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Strictly Come Dancing 2022: Meet the new Strictly professional dancers!". BBC Newsround. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Carlos Gu at Media Mole". Media Mole. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing reveals new professionals joining for 2022". Radio Times. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing adds four new professionals to its line-up". Evening Chronicle. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Who is Strictly's Carlos Gu? Everything you need to know about the multiple world semi-finalist". Hello!. 1 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Strictly's Carlos Gu's life off screen- Impressive net worth to romance". Daily Mirror. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Strictly fans stunned as pro Carlos Gu becomes 'new result leaker'". Manchester Evening News. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing, Series 20, The Final, Molly Rainford & Carlos Gu Show Dance". BBC. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ Willix, Pierra (12 November 2022). "Strictly star Molly Rainford reveals Carlos Gu banned her from dating". Metro. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Strictly best thing to ever happen to me - Hamza". BBC News Online. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ Seeberg, Lea Dzifa (14 July 2023). "Strictly Come Dancing live tour dates for 2024 announced with Vito Coppola". MyLondon. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing confirms 2023 professionals as one exits show". Radio Times. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Professional dancers returning for Strictly Come Dancing Series 20 confirmed" (Press release). BBC. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing 2023 couples revealed in launch show featuring spectacular performances from professional dancers and Judges" (Press release). BBC. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing: launch show – as it happened". The Guardian. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ Strictly Come Dancing - Series 23: Week 6. BBC. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Strictly Come Dancing - Series 23: Week 7. BBC. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Strictly Come Dancing - Series 23: Week 8 Results. Retrieved 17 November 2025 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ a b c Waddell, Lily (12 July 2024). "Strictly's Carlos Gu speaks about being gay in China for first time". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Robinson, Lucy; Peter Hart (26 October 2024). "Inside Strictly pro Carlos Gu's 'hard' life - struggle being gay in China to coming out to mum". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
- ^ "5* Weekend Break with the Stars of BBC Strictly Come Dancing". Donaheys. 13 November 2025. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Moore, Matthew (4 March 2025). "Carlos Gu reveals major career move away from Strictly Come Dancing". Hello!. Retrieved 15 November 2025.