Andy Carroll names ex-BBC Fame Academy coach Kevin Adams as man jailed for sexually assaulting him

Andy Carroll has publicly named Kevin Adams — a dance coach who appeared on BBC’s Fame Academy — as the man convicted of sexually assaulting him at his home in 2021. Adams was sentenced to 20 months in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court in 2023, and Carroll confirmed his identity after learning Adams’ name appeared in publicly available court documents.

Carroll, 37, first disclosed the assault in his recently published autobiography, Owning It. He described waking in the night to find Adams attempting to attack him beneath his bedsheets. Carroll said he threw Adams out of the house, struck him when he tried to re-enter, then called the police.

“Now that Kevin Adams has been named in court documents as my abuser, I can confirm it,” Carroll told the Sun. “Hopefully now I can finally start to put this chapter behind me. This had a devastating impact on my life and loved ones.”

The incident occurred after Carroll returned home from a match during his second spell at Newcastle United. His then-wife Billi Mucklow had invited Adams — a mutual acquaintance — to watch a boxing match and stay in the spare room.

Adams, now 59, had run the Kevin Adams Academy, a children’s dance school in Harlow, Essex, which appears to have ceased operating in 2022. At trial he attempted to portray himself as the victim, claiming Carroll had attacked him without cause. Judge Mary Loram was unsparing in her assessment: “You spun a literally incredible tale in which you painted yourself as the victim. You’ve actually started to believe your own lies.”

Carroll described the court process as “humiliating and horrendous” and said he added the story to his autobiography at the last minute, after deliberating with his current partner Lou Teasdale. He said he hoped speaking out would encourage other victims of sexual assault to come forward.

The former England striker, now a player-coach at National League South side Dagenham & Redbridge, made one specific request alongside his confirmation: “I just ask that people don’t constantly share pictures of my abuser alongside me. 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.”