Is it Halloween? No, but it’s Fright Night on Dancing With The Stars (RTÉ, Sunday, 6.30pm) for some unexplained reason. It’s also semi-final night, with only four of the five remaining celebrities going through to next week’s final.
We kick off with an impressive routine from the pro dancers featuring a red glitterball-topped sceptre, a tiny ghoulish child and some glittering red and black. At moments like this, you remember there are genuinely few unscripted RTÉ series with this level of production value.
Our hosts, Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy, are lumbered with a creaky joke-filled intro referencing tonight’s Oscars and then it’s on to our first couple of the night: Wild Youth’s David Whelan and pro dancer Salome Chachua.
Dressed as “sexy mummies”, Whelan emerges from a coffin gurning and lip-synching to Wrapped Up by Olly Murs during their swift-paced salsa. It’s another impressive performance from the pair, scoring a perfect 30 from the judges.
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At home in Youghal with jockey – and dancer with the stars – Davy Russell
“I would say you’ve raised the temperature in this room, along with the bar, which means the other contestants are shaking in their boots. I can’t keep this up,” says Loraine Barry, referencing tonight’s never-ending puns, which are already wearing thin.
Next up is Ireland’s Fittest Family host Laura Fox and dance partner Denys Samson with a Frankenstein-inspired American Smooth to Bobby Pickett’s Monster Mash. Despite a fun performance, the judges don’t appear impressed.
Brian Redmond says parts felt more like a “monster mish mash” and lacked “finesse”. Fellow judge Arthur Gourounlian disagrees. Fox scores disappointing 26.
Paralympian Jason Smyth and pro dancer Karen Byrne up their game with a clown-themed tango to Disturbia by Rihanna. They receive 27 points from the judges. “Doing a tango with handstands and somersaults is a scary extravanaganza, and I loved it!” enthuses Gourounlian. “With this dance, you definitely proved that you deserve to be here tonight.”
The other remaining athlete in this year’s competition also comes out fighting. Former jockey Davy Russell and partner Kylee Vincent perform a surprisingly sultry, Day of the Dead-tinged Viennese waltz to Never Tear Us Apart by INXS.
But their judges’ score of 27 is not enough to save them from the final dance-off of the series, alongside Whelan and partner Chachua.
Drag star Blu Hydrangea and dance partner Simone Arena round out tonight’s couple performances with a rapid fire Charleston to Witch Doctor by The Cartoons. “Blu the witch, you threw everything into your famous cauldron,” comments Gourounlian, while a weary Barry says: “I don’t know if there’s any more to say, because I don’t have any more witchcraft jokes.”
The pair score a third perfect 30 of the series.
After the dance-off, it is Davy Russell who ultimately gets the chop, with the audience and judges on their feet for the former horse racing champion.
“I have to thank my wife,” he says, as he comments that the whole town of Youghal in Cork has been behind him.
“From the moment you parked my van for me after rehearsal, you’re an absolute gent,” notes Zamparelli, holding back tears as his dance partner Kylee also chokes up.
“I don’t think I can express in words how proud I am of you,” the dance pro says. “And you can call yourself a dancer, baby!” Garrihy meanwhile describes Russell as “such a dote”.
Now it’s on to next week’s final, which is shaping up to be a very stiff competition indeed. It’s anyone’s glitterball trophy to snatch at this point.
