A Peaky performance

Lioness Karen is hoping to play a Blinder in the Strictly final, but she must find her cap first!

- BY LUCY NEEDHAM

STRICTLY Come Dancing star Karen Carney is in a Blinder panic ahead of tomorrow’s final — because she’s lost a vital part of her costume.

As a former Lioness skipper, Karen has no shortage of caps, winning 144 representing England. But it is the one she wore on Strictly which is currently eluding her.

The judges have asked her and partner Carlos Gu to perform their Peaky Blinders themed Argentine tango again as one of their three dances in the glitterball final.

The pair were highly praised for their dance to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song Red Right Hand, the title tune of the historical crime drama set in Birmingham, starring Cillian Murphy.

But now Brummie Karen, 38, is in a pickle, having swiped and mislaid the flat cap she wore for the routine. She says: “I never thought I'd do the dance again, so I took it as a memento. Now I’ve got to find it in the house again before Saturday. It was naughty.” Strictly costumes are made to measure for each dancer but the stars usually hand them back after each performance, so they can be rented, resold or reused for future seasons.