To lose one pro dancer to illness is bad luck. For a second to come down with an apocalyptic case of the sniffles – hours before showtime at that – suggests the gods truly are frowning on Dancing With The Stars 2024 (RTÉ One, 6.30pm). Yet that is the doomsday scenario facing DWTS in just its second episode as Karen Byrne and Kylee Vincent are forced to cry off owing to ill health.
Where does that leave their celeb partners: paralympic athlete Jason Smyth and Grand National winning jockey Davy Russell? It’s challenging for Smyth, who performs a foxtrot with replacement pro Julia Vaslyenko at the midpoint of a solid episode from RTÉ's rating bulldozer. But it’s a straight-up disaster for the unfortunate Russell, who, dressed as a rhinestone cowboy, is forced to canter down the entrance stairs unaccompanied and sadly sway from side to side, like the tragic hero from a Coen Brothers movie.
Happily, pro Laura Nolan twirls to the rescue and dances with Russell in her second performance of the evening. Unfortunately, his quickstep to Shania Twain is off the pace, his rodeo routine a bit of a Dud Lasso. He scores a disappointing 15. “I was really worried,” Russell admits – though he tries to look on the bright side and reveals his kids are throwing a DWTS party at home.
Two weeks in, with the first eliminations due seven days hence, a pecking order is already emerging. Top of the leader board is Wild Youth’s David Whelan, who blitzes his way through a Charleston with Salome Chachua, shrugging off a shoulder injury which makes it challenging to lift his partner, to score 24.
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“Technically, the swivels were absolutely fantastic. The energy was really, really high right throughout,” says an approving Brian Redmond. Also up there are Belfast drag queen Blu Hydrangea with Simone Arena, whose cumulative score places them second overall, and former Miss World Rosanna Davison, who, with Stephen Vincent, kicks the evening off with a bang, receiving a total of 23 for her salsa to Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie.
It’s equally obvious which contestants are in line for an early elimination. Former newsreader Eileen Dunne is full of gusto as she starts behind a news desk and then stomps her way to the floor. It’s quite a sight – as judge Arthur Gourounlian acknowledges. “Eileen Dunne doing the cha cha cha to Jennifer Lopez.. I needed this in my life!”
Alas, her routine runs aground and she scores 13. “I’m just so relieved it’s over,” she says. She could be first to go – as could actor Rory Cowan, who delivers a vapid Viennese Waltz to That’s Amore by Dean Martin. “You put the arms up, and you sort of disappeared into the waistcoat,” says Redmond. “It developed a bit of a humph.”
Despite the illnesses, it’s another enjoyable serving of DWTS. One area for concern, however, is the wilting chemistry between hosts Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy. They got on fabulously during Garrihy’s debut season. This year, their exchanges have felt forced, their one-liners failing to spark. Much like the celebrity dancers, their partnership still feels like a work in progress.
RTÉ will hope the old zing returns in the weeks to come.
