Karen Hauer has shared her 'nervous' anticipation ahead of her return to Strictly Come Dancing, providing an update on her first week back in rehearsals.

The professional dancer, who holds the title of the longest-serving female pro on the show, is poised to make a comeback to the ballroom this autumn as the BBC One dance competition launches its 2025 series.

The BBC unveiled the roster of professional dancers set to grace the dance floor this year back in April. Alongside Karen, Aljaz Skorjanec, Amy Dowden, Nadiya Bychkova, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Gorka Marquez and Luba Mushtuk are all set to return.

They will be joined by Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Dianne Buswell, Nancy Xu, Kai Widdrington, Michelle Tsiakkas, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Nikita Kuzmin and Vito Coppola.

It was also announced that two new professional dancers would be joining the show, with the newcomers since being revealed as So You Think You Can Dance champion Alexis Warr and Australia's Dancing With The Stars' Julian Caillon, reports the Manchester Evening News.

The full line-up of pros were then spotted heading into their first day of rehearsals, where they spent a full week at their training base before enjoying a weekend break.

Ahead of the start of week two, with many of the show's stars in high spirits as they returned to rehearsals for the group numbers due to be pre-recorded later this month, Karen opened up about her feelings.

In a post on her Substack page, she wrote: "This week felt... long. Not in a bad way, just in a 'what day is it again?' kind of way."

She later candidly admitted: "Going in on Monday, I had a whole mix of nerves. My brain was like, 'You've done this a hundred times Karen,' and my body was like, 'Cool, but we still might panic.'

"And I did a little. But instead of spiralling, I parked up early, blasted some music in the car, and gave myself time to just... breathe."

She added: "Walking into the studio, it hit me how much I'd missed it.

"The faces, the familiar space, the unspoken buzz before the music starts. I eased in slowly - one hello at a time and before I knew it, the space felt like home again," she continued eloquently.

Previously, Karen expressed her excitement about returning to Strictly on Instagram, stating: "14th series. Feels Good to be Back. Grateful @bbcstrictly #dancer #longestservingpro #14."

Strictly Come Dancing is set to return later this year on BBC One.