Karen Hauer will never stop dancing - even if she has "two broken knees".
Karen Hauer has recovered from her knee injury
The 41-year-old star was forced out of the 'Strictly Come Dancing' final last year after suffering a serious knee injury, but Karen has now recovered from her injury and is already looking forward to the new series of the BBC show.
She told The Sun newspaper: "It really shocked me and really shook me up. With my knee injury I had a lot of physio and had a lot of digging to do.
"My knee is really good now, it's just my back now.
"It took me out for two months and that for me was catastrophic.
"It was one of the scariest things that I've ever had to go through and the one thing that I didn't want to get was surgery.
"Having that injury and not being able to be on the dancefloor, I took it as a reset."
Karen is very aware of the threat posed by injuries. However, the 'Strictly' star insists nothing will stop her from dancing.
She shared: "Not that I live in that fear but it's always in the back of my head.
"But I would never retire from dancing - if I have two broken knees I would still go on the dancefloor."
Karen has made a successful recovery from her knee injury and is now looking forward to the new series of 'Strictly'.
She said: "I am super excited to be returning - it will be my 12th year, I am the longest running female.
"I have no idea how that happened, it's really incredible and I feel really lucky and grateful that they always ask me back which is nice, it's my favourite time of the year."