{"id":414222,"date":"2026-04-01T02:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/414222\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T02:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:38:17","slug":"luba-mushtuk-reunites-with-strictly-winner-karen-carney-as-they-wrap-each-other-in-a-hug-after-pro-dancer-was-axed-from-the-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/414222\/","title":{"rendered":"Luba Mushtuk reunites with Strictly winner Karen Carney as they wrap each other in a hug after pro dancer was ‘axed’ from the show"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luba Mushtuk<\/a> reunited with 2025 Strictly<\/a> Come Dancing winner Karen Carney<\/a> after being ‘axed’ from the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Professional dancer Luba, 36,\u00a0confirmed she was leaving the BBC show\u00a0on Friday amid a bloodbath of top talent being let go.<\/p>\n

Karen, 38, headed to Luba’s dance class and shared pictures of their reunion on Instagram on Monday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the photos, Karen beamed as she hugged Luba, who then lifted her off the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She wrote: ‘Reunited @lubamushtuk back on a dancefloor and had the best time at her class’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fellow 2025 contestant Vicky Pattison<\/a> wrote: ‘Love this’ while Vito Coppola<\/a> posted a love heart emoji.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Luba <\/p>\n

Luba Mushtuk reunited with 2025 Strictly Come Dancing winner Karen Carney after being ‘axed’ from the show<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Daily Mail revealed earlier this month that Luba,\u00a0Nadiya Bychkova<\/a>, 36, Karen Hauer<\/a>, 43, Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, and Gorka Marquez<\/a>, 35, had all been given the boot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She spoke out leaving the BBC<\/a> show on Friday, saying her time on the dancing competition ‘meant the world’ to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an Instagram statement, Luba penned: ‘With a heart full of gratitude, the time has come for me to step away from Strictly Come Dancing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘I am deeply grateful for the past 10 years on this beautiful show!<\/p>\n

‘Thank you for the amazing opportunity and the unforgettable memories. It has truly meant the world to me.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luba continued: ‘Now it’s time for me to follow my dreams beyond the show, and I’m excited for what the future holds.<\/p>\n

‘I can’t wait to see you all on the Pro Tour and I’m really looking forward to it for one last time. With all my love, Luba.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

The BBC then paid tribute to Luba with their own statement, sharing on the Strictly Instagram account:\u00a0 ‘A heartfelt thank you to Luba Mushtuk for her outstanding contribution to Strictly Come Dancing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Karen, <\/p>\n

Karen, 38, headed to Luba’s dance class and shared pictures of their reunion on Instagram on Monday<\/p>\n

‘Since joining in 2016 as an assistant choreographer and stepping into the professional dancer line-up two years later, Luba has been a valued member of the team – bringing professionalism, creativity, and her quality expertise year after year.<\/p>\n

‘Respected both on and off the dance floor, she has consistently delivered unforgettable routines, captivating audiences with her remarkable talent and signature elegance.<\/p>\n

‘We are incredibly grateful for her dedication to the programme and for always going above and beyond – whether through the care and commitment she showed her celebrity partners or her warmth and kindness behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

‘Luba has been, and always will be, a much-loved member of the Strictly family, and we wish her every success in the future.’<\/p>\n

Russian dancer Luba moved to Italy when she was 12 to train, where she became four-time Italian Dance Championship and an Italian Open Latin Show Dance champion.<\/p>\n

After joining Strictly in 2018 she went on to win that year’s Children In Need special with Boyzone’s Shane Lynch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has also competed on the Strictly Christmas special four times, with Jake Wood in 2018, Jay Blades in 2021, Rickie Haywood-Williams in 2022 and Nicholas Bailey in 2025.<\/p>\n

Her first celebrity partner on the main show was Olympic rower James Cracknell in 2019, with the pair becoming the first couple to be eliminated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2020, she was partnered with the former NFL player and sports pundit, Jason Bell and they were the second couple to be eliminated.<\/p>\n

Luba was then placed in the dance troupe for two years before gaining actor Adam Thomas as a partner in 2023.<\/p>\n

They were the sixth couple to be eliminated. The following year she was paired up with TV presenter Nick Knowles and they were the third couple to be eliminated.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Luba Mushtuk reunited with 2025 Strictly Come Dancing winner Karen Carney after being ‘axed’ from the show.\u00a0 Professional…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[3412,118,18,117,19,876,17,116115,186360,23260,438],"class_list":{"0":"post-414222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-instagram","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-karen-carney","16":"tag-luba-mushtuk","17":"tag-strictly-come-dancing","18":"tag-tvshowbiz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116327134626410885","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}