Carlos Gu (; born 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.
Life and career Gu was born in Taiyuan China on 6 January 1993. He has competed in numerous competitions and is a Chinese National Champion. Along with his professional partner Susan Sun, he has competed in dance championships in China and around the world.
Strictly Come Dancing In 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. 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." He was paired with singer and actress Molly Rainford for his first series and they reached the final, before finishing as the runners-up. Gu later embarked on the Strictly Come Dancing Live! tour. Gu returned for the 21st series and was paired with television presenter Angela Scanlon; they were eliminated in week 10. Gu returned for 23rd series where he was paired with former footballer Karen Carney and won his first series, becoming the first Chinese professional dancer to win
Series Partner Place Average score 20 Molly Rainford 2nd 35.4 21 Angela Scanlon 6th 30.5 23 Karen Carney 1st 33.924Jaime Winstone 21.0
+ Highest and lowest scoring per dance Dance Partner Highest Partner LowestAmerican Smooth Molly Rainford 36 Angela Scanlon 28Argentine tango Karen Carney 40 Molly Rainford 33Cha-cha-cha Molly Rainford 35 Jamie Winstone 21Charleston 38 Angela ScanlonKaren Carney 35Couple's choice Karen Carney 40 Molly Rainford 30Foxtrot Molly Rainford 35 Instant DanceKaren Carney1Jive 40 Angela Scanlon 29Paso doble Molly RainfordKaren Carney 39 33Quickstep Molly Rainford Karen Carney 27Rumba 28Salsa Karen CarneySamba 34 Angela Scanlon 27Showdance Molly RainfordKaren Carney 37Tango Molly Rainford 35 Karen Carney 20Viennese waltz Angela Scanlon 28 Waltz Karen Carney 39 Angela Scanlon 33
Series 20: with Molly Rainford WeekDance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult Horwood Mabuse Ballas Du Beke1 Samba / "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)" 7 8 8 8 31 No elimination2 Quickstep / "Love On Top" 8 9 9 8 Safe3 Waltz / "One Hand, One Heart" 8 9 9 8 34 Safe4 Cha-Cha-Cha / "Do What I Do" 8 9 9 9 35 Safe5 Couple's Choice / "Chicken Man" 6 8 8 8 30Bottom two6 Argentine Tango / "Running Up That Hill" 6 9 9 9 33 Safe7 Foxtrot / "You Make Me Happy" 8 9 9 9 35Bottom two8 Rumba / "All the Man That I Need" 9 9 10 9 37 Safe9 Jive / "Bandstand Boogie" 8 9 9 9 35Bottom two10 Tango / "Bad Guy" 8 9 9 9 35 Safe11 Charleston / "Hot Honey Rag" 9 10 10 9 38Bottom two12 American Smooth / "Easy on Me" 8 9 9 10 36 Safe Paso Doble / "Survivor" 9 10 10 10 13 Quickstep / "Love On Top" 9 10 10 10 Runners-up Showdance / "Kiss" & "1999" 8 10 9 10 37 Rumba / "All the Man That I Need" 9 10 10 10 number indicates when Molly & Carlos were at the top of the leaderboard. number indicates when Molly & Carlos were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Series 21: with Angela Scanlon WeekDance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult Horwood Mabuse Ballas Du Beke 1 Tango / "Prisoner" 6 6 5 7 23 No elimination 2 Jive / "Trouble" 7 7 7 8 29 Safe 3 Charleston / "Who's Got the Pain" 9 9 8 9 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 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 number indicates when Angela & Carlos were at the top of the leaderboard. number indicates when Angela & Carlos were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Series 23: with Karen Carney WeekDance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult Horwood Mabuse Ballas Du Beke 1 Jive / "One Way or Another" 7 8 8 8 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 Rumba / "Think Twice" 7 7 7 7 28 Safe 6 Argentine Tango / "Red Right Hand" 9 10 9 10 38 Safe 7 Charleston / "Upside Down" 8 10 8 9 35 Safe8American Smooth / "You Don't Own Me" 7 8 8 8 31 Safe9Paso doble / "O Fortuna" 9 10 10 10 39 No elimination10Couple's Choice / "Born This Way" 10 10 10 10 Safe11Samba / "The Rhythm of Life" 8 8 9 9 Safe12Waltz / "One Moment in Time" 9 10 10 10 SafeSalsa / "Turn the Beat Around" 9 10 10 10 3913Argentine Tango / "Red Right Hand" 10 10 10 10 WinnersShowdance / "Inner Smile" 8 10 9 10 Jive / "One Way or Another" 10 10 10 10 number indicates when Karen & Carlos were at the top of the leaderboard. number indicates when Karen & Carlos were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Dance tours In spring 2025, Gu toured with fellow Strictly professional Amy Dowden. In November 2025, Gu announced his appearance at Dancing With The Stars Weekends 2026.
Personal life Gu is gay 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. 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". He also talked about a culture of homophobia in dance in China, 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.
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. He told Hello! that he started drawing again in 2024 and spent 2 months on Reborn as a meditative piece.
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