RTÉ’s brand new family entertainment show Dancing with the Stars begins this January.
Join presenters Amanda Byram and Nicky Byrne every Sunday nights for 12 weeks from 6.30pm on Sunday 8th January, as 11 celebrities – some who think they can bust a move and some with two left feet – will pair up with their professional dancing partners to test their twinkle toes. Each pairing will have a different dancing genre to master every week from the cha-cha to mambo to tango and they’ll have just seven days to perfect their routine before performing live to the nation.
They will be the scored by an expert panel of judges and the viewing public at home. All the contestants will be safe for the first two shows. Eliminations kick off from week three with one celebrity being voted very week until the final on Sunday 26th March when the remaining contestants and their partners will compete to be crowned the first champions of RTÉs Dancing with the Stars.
The line-up includes the straight-talking Dr. Eva Orsmond: “I am extremely lucky to have an opportunity like this and it could not have come at a better time in my life. I have always wanted to learn to dance and to really focus my time on it but I have never had the time. It’s like a dream come true!”
Sports commentator Des Cahill will also be waltzing his way onto television screens in January: ‘I have very little dance experience so my dancing shoes definitely need a polishing, but I am really looking forward to giving it my best shot! Although as the oldest and heaviest in the competition I might be at a slight disadvantage’
Kerry footballer Aidan O’Mahony will be swapping football boots for Cuban hells as he aims to add the glitterball trophy to his All-Ireland medal haul: I’m delighted to be taking part in Dancing with the Stars, this will be my first time & probably last time ever doing something like this. I’m looking forward to having a laugh & more importantly giving the public a laugh, I’ve never danced in my life which will be obvious to see on the live shows & I know switching from the green grass to the ballroom floor will not be an easy transition especially as I have two lefts pegs on me & not a step in the world!!!!Here’s to a couple of weeks of absolute carnage on the dance floor!!!
Reporter Teresa Mannion certainly won’t be hoping to make any treacherous journeys when she enters the Dancing with the Stars ballroom. “Taking part in this show is truly a gift. Learning to dance gets you out of your head and into the very essence of your being. The effort, the frustration, the repetition are all worth it for the sheer joy it brings. From now on I’m going to take a little time out to dance every day!”
Big Brother breakout star Hughie Maughan will be giving it his best effort: “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of Dancing with the Stars. You never know, I could be the new Patrick Swayze or I could look as rubbish as a cat on ice skates. Either way I am going to bring the fun to the show.”
Comedian Katherine Lynch is hoping that her two left feet will reconcile in time for her first dance next month: “I am scared shitless! I am the proud owner of two left feet and they have a very dysfunctional relationship. Dancing is one of my greatest fears so it’s great to be able to finally face it!”
International model Thalia Heffernan is used to strutting her stuff on the catwalk but she’s up for the Dancing with the Stars challenge: “I am so excited about participating in the show. I get to test my mettle in other disciplines – I enjoy any chance to dance and this is an opportunity to show the real me.”
HomeTown’s Dayl Cronin’s boy band experience will surely be a helping hand for him in this competition: “I am used to dancing a bit on stage but this is a totally different ball game. Our style is a bit more hip hop and this show is all about ballroom and Latin which are totally alien to me! I’m really looking forward to the challenge and, hopefully, I can do well.”
On Friday night’s Late Late Show comedian Des Bishop became the first celebrity to confirm their participation in the show: “I absolutely cannot wait for January. I can’t think of a better way to spend the next few months – if I last that long! At my age, to learn something completely new like ballroom dancing is an amazing opportunity.”
Fair City and The Fall actress Aoibhin Garrihy is also looking forward to taking part: “I am so delighted to be involved in the very first Irish Dancing with the Stars in all its glittering glory! As an actor, the opportunity to learn a completely new art form in a very short space of time is both an exciting and nerve-racking concept. So far, the experience has been amazing and I’m really enjoying every minute of it. Here’s to a delightful few months of dancing!”
The series is sponsored by Renault Ireland and produced by ShinAwil for RTÉ.
The two-hour show will be broadcast from Sunday 8th January until 26th March 2017. In the first episode of the series we get to meet all 11 celebs with 5 of the celebs taking to the floor with their dance partners for the first time.
There will be no elimination in the first two weeks. Eliminations kick off from week three with one celebrity being voted very week until the final on Sunday 26th March when the remaining contestants and their partners will compete to be crowned the first champions of RTÉs Dancing with the Stars.
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