Dancing with the Stars recap: Stephanie Roche sent home in first Dance Off of the season
Stephanie Roche with dance partner Ervinas Merfeldas
Stephanie Roche has been sent home in the first Dance Off of this year's Dancing with the Stars competition.
The Ireland player founder herself in the dance-off with influencer Suzanne Jackson, after scoring 19 points for the notoriously hard samba.
All three judges chose to save Suzanne, who had scored 25 points for her American Smooth on the night, but judge Brian Redmon said the dance-off was "closer than the scores this evening reflect," noting that Stephanie had upped her game in the dance-off like "the sportsperson she is".
Leaving the competition, Stephanie said she wanted to thank dance partner Ervinas Merfeldas.
"I came in as a pretty raw dancer. He got me to the level I got to tonight. He’s a really great guy. Everyone here is great.”
Ervinas said in response, “You’ve gone out and smashed each dance. I’m so proud of you.”
The seventh week of the dance contest was opened by rugby legend Shane Byrne and his partner Karen Byrne. The pair took on an energetic jive this week, which went down well with the judges, scoring 20 points overall. Judge Brian said he had "changed" how he was looking at Byrne, now judging him with a "critical dance eye" - a sign of how much he has improved in the competition.
It was also good news for Carl Mullan this week, who was given a particularly challenging task by dance partner Emily Barker. He was tied to his partner with a rope for his tango to Sucker by Jonas Brothers. Dancing with a prop is a risk, but on Sunday, judge Loraine said Carl pulled it off. “There was this fiery, fierce energy all the way through,” she said, while judge Arthur said Carl showed a “sexy” side to himself tonight. The 2FM breakfast broadcaster scored 24.
Panti Bliss was back tonight after Rory O’Neill performed out of the drag for the first time last week. His powerful Paso Doble earned him immunity from this week’s Dance Off, so the pressure was off for the drag queen. It was the salsa this week for Panti, and judge Arthur said it was “vibrant and bold” just like the drag queen herself. “You were born to do salsa,” he said. The judges weren’t quite as impressed with the salsa routine as the Paso Doble last week, but Panti and partner Denys didn’t really care – they were automatically through. They scored 22.
Comedian Kevin McGahern has been consistently improving throughout the show, and after scoring 25 for his Viennese Waltz last week, it was another stellar week for the showman. This week, he took on the quickstep, to much acclaim for all three judges. Judge Brian said the other celebrities should be “praying” they don’t end up in the dance-off with him, while Loraine said he was setting the bar “really high”. Judge Arthur, meanwhile, said throughout the competition, the comedian has been like “a sponge, soaking up all of our critiques, good and bad” and he was quickly becoming a better dancer, week on week. He scored 26.
Glee star Damian McGinty had high expectations this week after scoring an impressive 27 last week. His Charlestown was “quirky” (Loraine’s words), “goofy” (Brian), and he “sold the character” (Arthur). Loraine said the lifts were “dangerously good” and took her breath away. He scored 29 overall, with his first tens from Loraine and Arthur. It was the best score of the night.
A frontrunner from the start, it was Brooke Scullion’s time to close the show with a jive that left her struggling to breathe at its conclusion. Judge Brian said it was “step perfect,” but he felt there was still “something missing”. She walked away with three nines and 27 for the leaderboard.
- Dancing with the Stars airs Sundays on RTÉ One at 6.30pm
