Prepare the scoring paddles, put the tanning booth on standby and get ready to shimmy from the couch: Dancing with the Stars will soon be back for a ninth season. Here is everything you need to know, plus some extra razzle-dazzle on top.
When does the TV glitzfest begin all over again?
The hunt for the glitterball trophy kicks and flicks into action on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday, January 4th, at 6.30pm, with the show running for 11 weeks until Sunday, March 15th.
Any cha-cha-changes this year?
Quite a few. Two-time Strictly Come Dancing champion Oti Mabuse has joined the judging panel as head judge. She succeeds Loraine Barry, who announced last September that she was standing down from the role after eight years. Mabuse will be joined by returning judges Brian Redmond, Arthur Gourounlian and Karen Byrne.
Laura Fox will co-present the show this season alongside Jennifer Zamparelli. Fox is standing in for regular co-host Doireann Garrihy, who is on maternity leave.
Three new professional dancers have also joined the glittering fold: Arianna Favaro, Leonardo Lini and James Cutler.
Where have we seen Mabuse and Fox before?
If you didn’t see Mabuse lift the glitterball on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing with celebrity partners Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey in 2019 and 2020, you may have spotted her as a judge on Dancing with Ice, a panellist on The Masked Dancer or a campmate on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! Her sister is Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse.
Fox presents 2FM Mornings with Laura Fox on the RTÉ station from 9am-12pm weekdays, as well as the RTÉ One series Ireland’s Fittest Family, while Dancing with the Stars viewers also will remember her from her run as a contestant on the 2024 series, when she reached the final.
Brian Redmond, Karen Byrne, Oti Mabuse and Arthur Gourounlian, the judges on Dancing with the Stars in 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Who is trying their luck on the dancefloor this time?
Twelve valiant celebrities will hope to emulate the triumph of 2025 winner Rhys McCleneghan or perhaps just get through their first dance without making a hames of it on live television.
Notably, this year’s crop of couples includes the first female same-sex pairing on the Irish version of the show.
Here’s a full rundown of the Class of 2026.
Niamh Kavanagh and Stephen Vincent
Niamh Kavanagh and Stephen Vincent on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Niamh Kavanagh, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 with In Your Eyes, famously saw the light leading her home again. Now she’ll have professional partner Stephen Vincent leading her around Dublin’s Font Hill Studios instead. Will she show no emotion, her feelings locked inside? It’s one way of controlling nerves.
Paudie Moloney and Laura Nolan
Paudie Moloney and Laura Nolan on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
“I am not a f**king hugger,” declared Paudie Moloney on The Traitors Ireland, which doesn’t bode brilliantly for his chances in the rumba. The retired prison officer – who is partnered with 2025 pro champion Laura Nolan – followed his turn as a traitor by popping up on Gogglebox Ireland and in the 3Olympia Christmas panto. Oh no, he didn’t, etc.
Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo Lini
Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo Lini on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Reigning Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins – she was the Laois Rose – will be sashaying her way into the competition with one of this year’s new pros, Leonardo Lini. Cummins did some spins with her escort on stage in Tralee, though her long hemline restricted her movement. She says the jive is her favourite dance. Can Lini help her add some tricks to her repertoire?
Michael Fry and Kylee Vincent
Michael Fry and Kylee Vincent on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
“I’m hoping there’s an artful way to bend over with a stitch mid-routine,” says comedian and actor Michael Fry, who is partnered with returning pro Kylee Vincent. Fry’s one-man indie band makes songs out of as-seen-on-TV quotes, such as Nadine Coyle’s “making me a Gemini” and Pádraig Flynn’s “try it some time”. Will his dancing stint inspire new lyrics?
Stephanie Kelly and Ervinas Merfeldas
Stephanie Kelly and Ervinas Merfeldas on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Fair City actor Stephanie Kelly, one of the longest-serving cast members in the RTÉ soap opera, has been involved in some traumatic storylines in her time and plays a resident of Carrigstown called Sash Bishop. Does that mean she can only move diagonally? Tune in to watch her first dance with pro partner Ervinas Merfeldas to find out.
Eric Roberts and Arianna Favaro
Eric Roberts and Arianna Favaro on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Not to be confused with the US actor of the same name, Eric Roberts came to attention on TikTok and Instagram, then joined the weekend presenting team on Virgin Media Television’s Ireland AM. Paired with new pro Arianna Favaro, Roberts taught himself hip-hop moves after watching the 2006 teen-dance film Step Up. Who didn’t?
Philip Doyle and Daniela Roze
Philip Doyle and Daniela Roze on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Philip Doyle won an Olympic bronze medal in the men’s double sculls (alongside Daire Lynch) at Paris 2024, so he knows how to work as a pair. But can he do it on dry land on a Sunday night in Dublin? The doctor and rower will be trying to find new ways to move his hips alongside aptly-named partner Daniela Roze.
Tolü Makay and Maciej Zieba
Tolü Makay and Maciej Zieba on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Singer Tolü Makay’s breakthrough moment came in early 2021, when her cover of N17 by The Saw Doctors on RTÉ’s 2020-2021 New Year’s Eve show went viral. Her performance, backed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, struck an emotional chord – will her dancing with pro Maciej Zieba do the same? She says the show “ticks every box” for her, which helps.
Amber Wilson and Alex Vladimirov
Amber Wilson and Alex Vladimirov on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Amber Wilson is “deeply proud” to be part of the first female same-sex pairing to compete on the show. She is best known for co-hosting podcast Vogue & Amber alongside sister Vogue Williams, who she will now swap for pro partner Alex Vladimirov. She says sequins are already a staple of her everyday wardrobe.
Anne Cassin and Robert Rowinski
Anne Cassin and Robert Rowinski on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Nationwide presenter Anne Cassin says the last time she danced in public involved a spot of Irish dancing when she was 10 years old. The journalist, a self-described “complete rookie”, will take to the dancefloor with Robert Rowinski, following in the brave steps of RTÉ friends Teresa Mannion, Mary Kennedy, Marty Morrissey and Eileen Dunne.
Jordan Dargan and Rebecca Scott
Jordan Dargan and Rebecca Scott on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
A finalist on The Apprentice in 2025, Jordan Dargan was handed Alan Sugar’s business card as he left the boardroom, but he’ll be swapping it for a dance card as he teams up with Rebecca Scott. Before he fired him, Sugar told him he had applied “too early” for the show. He’ll be looking to display better timing on the dancefloor.
Brian Kennedy and James Cutler
Brian Kennedy and James Cutler on Dancing with the Stars 2026. Photograph: RTÉ
Singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy will dance with new pro James Cutler, making them the second same-sex pairing on this year’s show. Kennedy is also the second Eurovision entrant, having represented Ireland in 2006 with Every Song is a Cry for Love. Can he win douze points from the judges? No, because the scores only go up to 10.
Who will flop and who will be FAB-U-LOUS?
We couldn’t possibly say, though several of this year’s celebrities have indicated that they will be stepping out of their comfort zone to do the show. That can go one of two ways.
Sadly, this is one of those situations when the advice “dance like no one’s watching” requires a certain suspension of disbelief to be effective.
Remind me why this is happening again?
Dancing with the Stars, which is produced for RTÉ by ShinAwiL, represents part of the broadcaster’s statutory commitment to commission content from the independent production sector.
Despite being made with a fraction of the budget enjoyed by Strictly Come Dancing – the “parent” format of the international TV hit – the show has been a success since it first launched in 2017, when it replaced The Voice of Ireland.
Part of its appeal is that it is both a dance competition and a popularity contest. The judges’ marks only represent half of the total score, with the public given a say on which celebrities waltz through to the following week and who must foxtrot home. Viewers’ votes alone determine the result in the final.
Most importantly for its multigenerational audience, the show brings a touch of sparkly fun to drab winter nights.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.irishtimes.com ’
