A former Strictly Come Dancing winner looked unrecognisable as she got into character for her new Channel 5 drama. 

The 41-year-old actress won the BBC competition in 2010 and lifted the Glitterball trophy with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev.

Now, she looks worlds away from the glitz and the glam of the show, as she cut a serious expression in a new promo shoot for The Teacher, which aired this week.

She stars in the show alongside Irish actor Emmett J Scanlan, Will Mellor, and Sheridan Smith.

The actress is also no stranger to a soap opera and is best known for her portrayal of Dawn Swann in the BBC’s EastEnders. But, can you guess who she is?

A former Strictly Come Dancing winner looked unrecognisable as she got into character for her new Channel 5 drama

The 41-year-old actress (right)  won the BBC competition in 2010 and lifted the Glitterball trophy with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev (pictured in The Teacher)

That’s right, it’s… Kara Tointon!

She is playing the role of Dani Oxley in Channel 5’s gritty new drama The Teacher, which aired it’s first episode on September 9.

Dani is an art teacher who’s struggling in her marriage and feeling worn out after turning 40, but then makes a huge mistake. 

On a school field trip she has a secret tryst with another teacher while in charge of a group of sixth formers. But when she returns, she discovers one of the children is missing. 

Gradually it emerges the child took out a kayak and has drowned. But there are many unanswered questions and the police begin a murder investigation which involves Dani, her lover Jimmy (Will Mellor) and her husband Tim (Emmett J. Scanlan) who’s also a teacher at the school.

The first series of the Channel 5 show, which starred Sheridan Smith, was a huge hit and fans will be instantly hooked by the mysteries in this dramatic four-part tale. 

In the drama, Kara looks worlds away from the sequins and sparkles of Strictly, after winning the show fourteen years ago.

She went on to have huge success off the back of the programme’s fame and bagging the win is one of the things she is best known for.

That’s right, it’s… Kara Tointon! She won Strictly in 2010 and lifted the Glitterball trophy with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev

Kara went on to have huge success off the back of the programme’s fame and bagging the win is one of the things she is best known for

Such was the career boost Strictly gave Kara, she told You Magazine that appearing on the show changed her life

She gained critical acclaim when she tread the boards in plays including Absent Friends and Relatively Speaking, and appeared in hit ITV drama Mr Selfridge playing Rosalie, daughter of department store founder Harry Selfridge.

She was also praised for her singing and dancing as she played Maria in ITV’s The Sound of Music Live.

Such was the career boost Strictly gave Kara, she told You Magazine that appearing on the show changed her life.

It also led to her having a three year relationship with her dance partner Artem but they split amicably in 2015 due to conflicting work schedules preventing them from spending any time together.

Now, she’s living in Norway with her fiancé Marius Jensen, and her boys Frey, five, and Helly, three.

Artem, the former Strictly pro who Kara won the show with, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in California last month.

The dancer was booked into Napa County Jail at the end of August, according to online jail records.

Chigvintsev’s arrest came just days after he celebrated his two-year wedding anniversary with his wife – WWE star Nikki Bella.

Artem Chigvintsev (pictured), the former Strictly pro who Kara won the show with, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in California last month

Artem Chigvintsev’s mugshot after he was booked into Napa County Jail on Thursday morning

He posted on Instagram: ‘Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life without you. You are my everything.’

The Russian dancer joined Strictly during series eight in 2010, the year he was paired with Kara.

The 42-year-old also made it to the semi-final of the show in 2011 with actress Holly Valance, before he was partnered with TV veteran Fern Britton in the 2012 series.

He was last partnered with Coronation Street star Natalie Gumede in 2013, with the pair securing the runner-up spot.

Chigvintsev later moved to the US version of Strictly, Dancing With The Stars, where in 2017 he was partnered with his future wife – Nikki Bella.

The couple have a son, who was born in 2020 just hours before Nikki’s twin sister Brie Bella announced the arrival of her second child.

The siblings starred in the E! reality show Total Bellas for five years.

Nikki Bella and Chigvintsev previously said they found out they were expecting just two-and-a-half weeks after getting engaged in Paris, and they married in 2022.