Presenter Marty Whelan will be joined by judges Jean Butler, Colin Dunne, and George Hook, as the remaining four male and four female celebrities take to the floor for the first time together showcasing their dancing skills and battle it out with each other in front of the nation for their favourite charity.
The third programme in the series sees the following the remaining eight celebrity contestants showcasing their dancing skills:
Ros na Run’s Conall, Gavin O’Fearraigh and professional dancer Dearbhla Lennon for Debra Ireland.
. Tenor and star of the West End Peter Corry and professional dancer Nicola Byrne for the Marie Keating Foundation.
. Fair City’s Malachy (Gerry Byrne) and professional dancer Paula Goulding for ISPCA.
. RTÉ’s Afternoon Show chef Kevin Dundon with professional dancer Rachael O’Reagan for MS Ireland.
• Former Miss World Rosanna Davidson and Professional dancer Ronan McCormack for Spinal Injuries Ireland.
• Fair City’s Orla (Sorcha Furlong) and professional dancer Damien Noone for the Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice.
• RTÉ 2fm DJ Ruth Scott and professional dancer Glenn Simpson for Trocaire.
• Irish Times correspondent and TV presenter Shalini Sinha and professional dancer Colin Ryan for Barnardos.
Each celebrity will be partnered and tutored by an Irish dancing professional. These dancers have performed around the world in some of the most prestigious shows in Irish dancing such as Lord of the Dance and Riverdance. Once again, gone are the traditional Irish airs and instead our celebrities will be box-stepping their way to an exciting soundtrack of contemporary Irish pop and rock hits. The contestants have already started the arduous task of learning their steps and are in full-time rehearsal with their partners.
The new series of Celebrity Jigs ‘n’ Reels will run over eight weeks and viewers will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite celebrity each week, with the live result show broadcast each Sunday at 9.30pm straight after the RTÉ’s Nine O’Clock News. Each celebrity has a chosen charity and proceeds raised during the course of the show will go directly to that charity.
RTÉ will broadcast live from Ardmore Studios each Sunday, where you can expect great performances, laughter, frustration, blisters and more .