Former England striker Andy Carroll has confirmed that BBC Fame Academy dance coach Kevin Adams was the man who sexually assaulted him in 2019, after Adams' name appeared in publicly available court documents. Adams was jailed for 20 months in 2023, and insiders claim at least two more celebrities may have been targeted by him.
Carroll, 37, first detailed the attack in his autobiography, 'Owning It', published last month — without naming his abuser. He described how Adams, who had invited himself round to watch the boxing and offered to mix drinks, stayed the night at Carroll's home during his second spell at Newcastle United, his hometown club. Carroll began to feel light-headed, went to bed, and woke to find the celebrity assaulting him under the bedsheets. He threw him out of the house and, when he would not leave the property, punched him unconscious and called the police.
Carroll told the Sun on Sunday: "Now that Kevin Adams has been named in court documents as my abuser, I can confirm it. Hopefully now I can finally start to put this chapter behind me." He added: "This had a devastating impact on my life and my loved ones." He also asked that people not constantly share pictures of his abuser alongside him: "I don't want to keep seeing his face or being reminded of him every time this story is spoken about. I'm ready to move forward."
Adams, 59, who appeared as a choreographer, dance coach and fitness instructor on BBC1's Fame Academy in 2002 and featured on Strictly It Takes Two in 2021, was convicted of sexual assault at Chelmsford Crown Court in 2023 and jailed for 20 months in November of that year; he was placed on the sex offenders register. In court, Adams claimed he was the victim — that he had been at Carroll's home to help out while Carroll's wife was away, and had been hit for no reason. The judge told him he had "spun a literally incredible tale" and had started to believe his own lies. Carroll gave evidence at the trial, which he described as "humiliating and horrendous."
Since Carroll's identification, insiders have claimed at least two more celebrities may have been targeted by Adams: in the early 2000s a notable figure confided to friends that Adams had targeted him but never reported it, and another celebrity accused him of similar conduct years later after fighting back. For Carroll, who has said only a few of his loved ones previously knew of the attack, publicly naming Adams closes a seven-year chapter — and he hopes it will let him finally move on.