to the World Championships held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Hardy participated in the television series Faking It (Series 4) for Channel 4. Along with Paul Harris they mentored a young female kick boxer to become a Latin American Dancer. Strictly Come Dancing After seven years retirement from competitions, Hardy appeared in the third series of the BBC's television series Strictly Come Dancing. She appeared with journalist and presenter Bill Turnbull, in the 2005 Christmas show with former World Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield, and won the 2006 series with cricketer Mark Ramprakash. She danced in the 2007 series with actor Brian Capron. They were eliminated in the first round. In June/July 2007 Hardy completed filming the DVD "Strictly Come Dancersize" with Erin Boag. The DVD went on general release on 4 December 2007. In the 2008 series of Strictly Come Dancing, Hardy partnered Gary Rhodes. They were knocked out in week 3. She has since said that she left as due to Gary Rhodes work commitments he was unable to train much and so each week they would be struggling to do the routines. This caused arguments due to frustration on both sides which she didn't like causing her to "fall out of Love" with it. She does however continue to make regular appearances on sister-show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two giving her professional opinion on the couple's training and performances. In 2011 she appeared on the BBC red button service, giving live commentary on the dancing, a role she continued in 2012. From 2011 until 2017 Hardy had been a regular presenter on the sister show "It Takes Two". Her Tuesday night slot "Choreography Corner" which has essentially become a review of the previous Saturday night show. Initially the focus was on specific pieces of interesting choreography. Personal life At the age of eight Hardy was diagnosed with a rare and acute form of ear cancer. Despite successive operations, the cancer returned three times. As a consequence of this, Hardy was advised to take up the art of ballroom dancing to compensate for the loss in her balance. A last-ditch operation when she was 21 cleared the cancer permanently. As a result of the cancer, Hardy lost 70% of the hearing in her left ear and in August 2012 was fitted with a hearing device. References External links Personal website Karen Hardy Studios Website British ballroom