Strictly pro Carlos Gu, 33, waltzed his way to the win with Lioness Karen Carney, but there’s another show that was his real teacher. Carlos, who was born in Taiyuan, China, and moved to the UK to join Strictly in 2022, says: “I started to learn English from Downton Abbey. All I wanted was to sound like Maggie Smith. I love posh and upper class things.”
But his love of the UK and its creative talent began years before he moved here. A massive Adele fan, he says he has loved her since 2010. He admits: “One time I even stole my mum’s credit card and I went to Belfast to watch her concert. I was still living in China, so it was far away and I loved it. I am so connected to her song A Million Years Ago and it helped me through the toughest time of my life, when I lost my cousin from cancer.”
While dancing would not be a first choice profession for boys in China, Carlos says he has had unconditional love and support from his mum. He says of his family: “They wanted me to be manly, muscular and strong. My mum realised she could not suppress my passion for dancing, so she sent me to a dance club and the rest is history. I joined Strictly and learned so many dances. My mum gave me so much unconditional love.”
Speaking at his new solo one man cabaret show Hush: An Evening with Carlos Gu, in London’s West End, while he won Strictly with Karen Carney, it is TV presenter Angela Scanlon, who he partnered with in 2023, that he’s most fond of. He says: “We had such a great time. It felt like we knew each other before we met.”
Very forward with praise for his partners, Carlos feels the standard of celebrity dancing has risen beyond measure. He continues: “The Strictly celebs level has become higher and higher each year. If you watch the beginning of Strictly, they could barely dance. “
He is also gushing with praise for fellow pro dancer Katya Jones. He says: “Who knows if I will win it this year. I think it will be Katya.” When he decided to adopt a Western first name, instead of his Chinese name, Gu Kunxuan, at first he wanted to use Bob. But he settled on Carlos, saying his teacher told him: “No Latin dancer is going to be called Bob.”
An admirer, however, of the choreographer Bob Fosse, the creative genius behind legendary Broadway musicals and films, like Sweet Charity (1966) and Chicago (1975) he would love to star in Cabaret in the West End. He says: “It is my dream to play the Emcee in Cabaret, so hopefully one day I will be there. I love the music and Bob Fosse and Liza Minnelli. My dream is to become the next Liza in a male version. I want to call myself Liza Gu. I will have to register the name.”
But his aspirations to follow in the footsteps of stars like Adam Lambert as Emcee and belt out favourites like Wilkommen may remain a pipe dream. He says: “I have always wanted to be a singer. But I was once told by my cousin, who was a pianist, ‘you are tone deaf. You can’t sing!’”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
