Writer Cathy Kelly received her marching orders from RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars on Sunday night after becoming the first celebrity to leave the show.
It was the final chapter in the author’s journey on the flagship program after she surprisingly got the Sunday night show boot after failing to win over the voting public.
And this despite a respectable score of 15 votes from the judges for his Tango with his partner Maurizio Benenato.
She described the show as “an amazing experience”.
“It was so much fun, I had so much fun with Maurizio,” she said.
She failed to wow judge Brian Redmond who told her earlier in the evening how her performance was “a little too Debbie Harry and not quite Dirty Harry. It was good, but it wasn’t didn’t really brighten my day.”
The third show in the new series saw Lottie Ryan recruited to replace presenter Jennifer Zamparelli after the 2fm star fell ill with Covid during the week.
Although she was brought in at the last minute, Ryan cut a relaxed figure on the live show, which she won in March 2020 with Pasquale la Rocca and which now presents a DWTS podcast.
She told viewers it was “an absolute honor to be here and I hope Jen will be back in the ballroom very soon”.
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It was the first week the 12 celebrities performed their routines together on the live show co-hosted by Nicky Byrne.
And some clear favorites have already emerged with singer Erica Coady topping the charts thanks to her combined score of 47 from the past two weeks.
She made history with the highest opening score in series history and on Sunday night she performed a flawless foxtrot to the music of My Girl, earning her 23 points from the from the judges.
Hot on his heels, but in second place, was champion jockey Nina Carberry – who scored the first nine in the series – followed by fellow sports star Paralympian gold Ellen Keane.
The Clontarf native opened the show by performing a lively cha-cha-cha to the tune of “Get Out of my Head”.
She received some positive feedback from the judges, along with Arthur Gourounlian. saying that her “body language is beautiful, you just have to go a bit more.”
TV presenter Grainne Seoige also made a small impression with her fiery Paso Doble to the tune of “Devil Woman”, changing from Ice Queen to Lady in Red as she showed off some whimsical footwork.
Judge Brian Redmond said they “definitely captured the atmosphere and characteristics of this dance” and the duo scored 17 panel points.
Next Sunday will be movie week on the hit show where the remaining 11 celebrities and their professional dancers will strut their stuff in movie-inspired routines.
