Exclusive: Carlos Gu reveals major career move away from Strictly Come Dancing
Although we're all used to seeing Carlos Gu'sdance abilities on Strictly Come Dancing, it appears that the Chinese-born star has another artistic endeavour in his repertoire.
On his 32nd birthday, the Strictly star shared a picture of his debut artwork, titled Reborn. And speaking exclusively to HELLO! ahead of his new tour with co-star Amy Dowden, which carries the same title, the star confirmed more art would be in the works.
"I've always liked drawing and painting since I was a kid, but because of dancing, I was forced away from that field. Last year, I started getting back into drawing, so I made this meditation piece in two months. I will be creating new works because I have things in my head that are great, but Reborn is my focus at the moment."
The dancer's new tour will see him travel up and down the UK with Amy, who describes the star as her "little brother." Speaking about their close bond, Carlos said: "We have to thank Strictly for this. We knew each other for a long time before, as we used to compete against each other.
"But because of Strictly, we met, and she is just so nice to me. She had no reason to help me, to guide me, to look after me, but she did. I'm a very emotional and spiritual person, and we just bonded. We started to spend more time together, and I find it very special, and I'm very lucky to have a relationship like that, especially with a friend."
Carlos's new tour is a passion project for the dancer, who came up with its name and parts of the story behind it. He smiled as he told HELLO!: "Just thinking about this makes me happy. You think about the final vision, the dream."
He continued: "I always wanted to do a tour to really tell the stories and have Reborn based on my life experiences. I moved to the UK, all the way from China. I had never worked on the telly, so I was working in a different environment and accepting my own identity. I feel like I've been given the chance to be reborn and to live the life that I've been dreaming of for years. I think we were born for this show. I've been waiting for 32 years to do this show."
"When we dance on Strictly with the celebrities, we have to focus on our partners to make them look good, it's not about ourselves. This is the only chance I can really showcase myself. When I spoke to Amy about this idea, I thought she was perfect because she's survived everything. She survived her cancer journey, and she's such an incredible, strong lady."
Last year was a milestone moment for the professional dancer, as he came out as gay during an episode of Lorraine. Speaking about the moment, he shared: "It wasn't easy, it takes courage and bravery to really talk about something so private to yourselves. But I want to speak out because I want more Asian kids, or the kids out there who are still figuring themselves out, to have somebody to look up to and see that it's okay."
He reflected: "I don't know if I have any queer members in my family, but in China, you don't really talk about it, even though I knew when I was a kid that I was different. I always liked playing with dolls, imitating models on the TV, dressing myself up or doing my cousin's makeup. I knew that somehow I'm different from the stereotype of the boys."
"There's never really an open space to talk about this in China, especially in dancing. Sometimes we say, 'If you're gay, you could never be a champion.' They believe that dance is for men and women, and that if you're gay, you can't really portray the story. But I never believed that. My teacher was a nine-time world champion, and he's gay, so I was lucky enough that in my teenage life, I had somebody I could look up to."
The star has been embracing his queer identity, including an iconic drag performance during Strictly's Musicals Week and a much bolder sense of style. "I don't know if there's a moment that I'm really proud of, but there's a moment that I realised I can be myself and do what I want," Carlos explained.
"To go on the red carpet and wear big skirts. I'm not afraid to show my identity with people, and I've become braver. I'm more open and accepting of myself than before."
Having freshly come out, Carlos tells HELLO! that he is still single, joking: "I'm as single as a spinster. I'm really enjoying my single life." However, he admitted seeing Amy happily married did make him wish to meet someone one day, saying they needed to be a "classic gentleman" and "funny."
Although Carlos left 2024 with plenty of highlights, for the first time since joining Strictly Come Dancing, he was without a celebrity partner. Speaking of how this affected him, the dancer was upbeat as he mused: "Whatever happens on Strictly, it's more of a character-building exercise."
"It gives you a bigger meaning of, 'Wow, what? Why is this happening? What can I do better?' You must always see everything as an opportunity, not a disappointment. This year, I have my fingers crossed. We don't think about the future, we think day by day."
The dancer also faced reports that he had fallen out with his co-star, Nancy Xu, with the pair reportedly unfollowing each other on social media. Downplaying any rumours, Carlos stated: "I genuinely love Nancy. We've known each other for such a long time. Every friend at some point has a disagreement."
Reborn tours the United Kingdom from 10 March to 6 April. Tickets are available now.
