Dancing with the Stars recap: Close dance-off as celebrities with equal scores battle it out
Comedian Gearoid Farrelly with dancer Stephen Vincent
Comedian Gearóid Farrelly has become the latest celebrity to leave Dancing with the Stars.
In a truly close call, he faced actor Danny O’Carroll in the dance off with both celebrities having received the exact same score of 33 earlier in the night.
Unfortunately, Farrelly made some mistakes in the dance-off, making the judges’ decision a little bit easier.
“To be honest, I am glad I made a total mess of it,” the comedian joked after the decision, “it wasn’t close at all.”
As he left the competition, he praised the wonderful pro dancers.
“They are our therapists, they talk us off a ledge every Wednesday... they are a lifeline.
“And he is the captain of the ship,” he said of partner Stephen Vincent. “I think I’ve got a good friendship out of it – that's worth more than the glitterball to me.”
With the competition heating up, keeping out of the dance-off is becoming increasingly difficult for our celebrities.
Former Miss Universe Ireland Aishah Akorede thankfully avoided the dreaded dance-off for a third time this week, and earned her first 10 for a stunning American Smooth.
That 10 came from judge Arthur Gourounlian who called it his “ballroom of the season”.
“Your lifts were mesmerizing, you were floating. It was a gorgeous, heartfelt performance". She scored 36 overall.
Just a point ahead of her on 37 was Olympian Jack Woolley.
“The side-by-side bits were absolutely deadly. It was like looking at two pros out on the floor,” Karen Byrne said of his samba.
“It was so vibrant, there was so much energy, you gave it your all,” Loraine Barry added.
But our favourite comment of all came from presenter Jennifer Zamparelli who said it was like “if Ricky Martin was from Tallaght”.
After a brief trip to the lower end of the leaderboard last week, Rhys McClenaghan was back on top with a near perfect score for his contemporary ballroom to The Verve classic ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’.
Barry said the powerful music added pressure "because you have to deliver to balance it".
"The good news is that’s exactly what you did. I thought it was truly sublime.”
Byrne added that it was “seamless from one movement to the next”, while Redmond said he had done a really good job of including his "flips and tricks” without letting it overpower the dance. He scored 39 out of a possible 40.
Hovering at the lower end of the leaderboard was Danny O'Carroll who just made it through to next week's quarter-finals and content creator Kayleigh Trappe who received 32 points for her Charleston.
“There are three things we need [from a Charleston] – entertainment, technique and breathtaking lifts,” Redmond told her. “One of the lifts was a bit wobbly, but let's called it 2.5/3, that’s not bad.”
Kevin Dundon once again found himself in last place with 24 points for his foxtrot.
After hearing that negative comments have been getting to Dundon, judge Byrne had some reassuring words for the chef: “You’re improving every week – you deserve to be here.”
“You’re putting the time and effort in like everyone else. Be proud of yourself.”
And indeed, Dancing with the Stars’ resident chef survived to dance another dance.
