Andy Carroll names TV dance coach Kevin Adams as his 2021 attacker

WHAT HAPPENED
Former England forward Andy Carroll has told The Sun newspaper that the man who sexually assaulted him in 2021 was TV dance coach Kevin Adams. Carroll, 37, first disclosed that he had been assaulted in his autobiography Owning It, which was published last month; the book did not name the attacker.

Carroll said he decided to name Adams after becoming aware the attacker’s name appeared in publicly available court documents. Adams has not commented publicly since Carroll named him.

CONTEXT AND LEGAL OUTCOME
BBC News understands Adams, who appeared on the BBC series Fame Academy in 2002 and made several television appearances as a dancer or dance instructor from the late 1990s onwards, was given a custodial sentence for the assault in 2023. He was found guilty following a trial in September 2023 and was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment in November 2023 at Chelmsford Crown Court.

CARROLL’S ACCOUNT
Carroll has previously said he was attacked while asleep by a friend of his former partner, who had visited his home to watch a boxing match while Carroll was playing for his boyhood club Newcastle United. In his book he described waking during the assault, throwing the attacker out of the house and knocking him unconscious when he tried to return. Carroll wrote he had “spent a lot of time discussing whether to mention it in this book or not” and added: “Scary to talk about but it’s made [me] the person I am today as much as any of the good stuff. And if me talking about it helps just one person then good, it will have been worth it.”

Support information
The BBC’s coverage notes details of help and support with sexual abuse or violence are available via the BBC Action Line.