Interview With Karen

Karen Hardy has been talking to the Daily Mail about her battle with mastoid cholesteatoma, a serious and life-threatening ear disease.

The desrciptions of the operations and trauma Karen went through are pretty unpleasent, but it helps understand Karen's dance determination.

Karen was excited to join Strictly, after a recommendation from Len: "At first I just thought it would be a good opportunity to put a dress on and see if I could still move like I used to. I never thought I'd be there for five series and get recognised in the supermarket or taking my son to school."

He says few people knew about it her condition, but she told the Strictly producers: "The show was aware of my illness. But I didn't tell the dancers or judges. Mark Ramprakash was the only celebrity I told. I'd said "pardon" to him three times and felt I needed to explain myself."

It's worth reading the whole article.