{"id":227714,"date":"2026-01-05T00:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T00:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/227714\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T00:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T00:54:12","slug":"mabuse-and-redmond-collide-in-fun-return-short-on-glitz-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/227714\/","title":{"rendered":"Mabuse and Redmond collide in fun return short on glitz \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forget about the cold snap \u2013 temperatures are rising on Dancing with the Stars<\/a> Ireland (RT\u00c9 One, 6.30pm), where new head judge Oti Mabuse has already found her nemesis in returning adjudicator Brian Redmond. \u201cDon\u2019t listen to them,\u201d says Oti after Redmond critiques influencer and radio broadcaster Eric Roberts for giving it too much, too soon. \u201cI love it!\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a heated disagreement in an otherwise chummy first outing for Mabuse, who won the 2020 edition of the BBC<\/a>\u2019s Strictly Come Dancing with Bill Bailey. Mabuse replaces Loraine Barry and, while she\u2019s not yet quite as authoritative as her predecessor, it\u2019s a solid debut. She already has good chemistry with fellow judges Karen Byrne and Arthur Gourounlian<\/a>, while her fire-and-brimstone back-and-forth with Redmond promises plenty of spark in the months ahead.<\/p>\n

The other new face this year is radio host and former DWTS finalist Laura Fox, stepping in for Doireann Garrihy<\/a> during her maternity leave. Having performed on the show herself, Fox understands the task at hand and, straight out of the gate, has an easy rapport with co-host Jennifer Zamparelli<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That said, their wardrobe game could be stronger. During the opening song-and-dance number, their shimmering outfits and fixed stares make them look like a glitzy version of the spooky twins from Stanley Kubrick\u2019s The Shining.<\/p>\n

\"DancingDancing with the Stars judges (from left) Brian Redmond, Karen Byrne, Oti Mabuse and Arthur Gourounlian. Photograph: Kyran O\u2019Brien\/Kobpix <\/p>\n

In contrast to the costumes, the 2026 celebrity line-up is a little short on glitter. There\u2019s the usual grab bag of former athletes, a few singers and actors \u2013 plus the obligatory novelty contestant of a certain age, there mainly for name recognition.<\/p>\n

This year that honour goes to The Traitors<\/a>\u2019 Paudie Moloney, introduced in a fun clip where he returns to the Traitors castle at Slane and announces: \u201cHoney, I\u2019m home!\u201d<\/p>\n

His actual performance \u2013 a cha-cha-cha with pro dancer Laura Nolan \u2013 is all vim and little skill, and he\u2019s politely savaged by the judges. Karen Byrne dubs him \u201cPaudie Swayze\u201d, but his dancing is more dodgy than dirty, and Redmond hands him a bare-minimum two stars.<\/p>\n

By the end credits, Paudie props up the leaderboard with 13 points. In first place is Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins, who delivers a scorching tango with new pro hoofer Leonardo Lini to Taylor Swift<\/a>\u2019s The Fate of Ophelia. She earns a hot streak of votes to score an impressive 31. That puts her just ahead of Eric Roberts and Arianna Favaro (29), and Apprentice contestant Jordan Dargan and Rebecca Scott on 28.<\/p>\n

\"FairFair City actress Stephanie Kelly with pro dancer Ervinas Merfeldas during Dancing With the Stars on Sunday. Photograph: Kyran O\u2019Brien\/Kobpix <\/p>\n

Down in the basement, Vogue Williams\u2019 sister Amber Wilson looks visibly ill-at-ease as she performs a cha-cha-cha with Alex Vladimirov. They\u2019re the first all-female couple on DWTS Ireland, but there\u2019s little historic about the dance itself, which leaves the judges unimpressed \u2013 though they do their best to be supportive. \u201cI feel there\u2019s a lot of self-doubt,\u201d says Mabuse. \u201cCome back and blow our socks off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nobody\u2019s socks will have been blown off by Sunday evening\u2019s opener, but it\u2019s a fun return. Mabuse slips neatly into the swing of things and her early disagreements with Redmond suggest further drama down the line. On a freezing cold night, the good news is that \u2013 line-up changes notwithstanding \u2013 DWTS is still hot to trot. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Forget about the cold snap \u2013 temperatures are rising on Dancing with the Stars Ireland (RT\u00c9 One, 6.30pm),…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21183,93,61,60,6085],"class_list":["post-227714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-dancing-with-the-stars","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-rte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}