Orchestra Night on Dancing with the Stars (RTÉ One. 6.30pm) ends on a flubbed note for Philip Doyle, who becomes the latest celebrity to exit the series. The Olympic rower, dancing a jive with Daniela Roze, doesn’t quite sink without a trace – he’s been a consistent high scorer on the contest – and is entitled to feel aggrieved at being voted into the dance-off by viewers, who have once again let themselves down.
Doyle loses to singer Tolü Makay, who goes from topping the leader board earlier in the evening to performing her second Charleston of the night simply to stay in the contest. With just six celebs remaining, at least one decent dancer was always going to find themselves in the dance-off – but two? Something feels amiss.
Orchestra Night is time for DWTS to put on its bow tie and press its shirt, and, purely as a spectacle, the episode does not disappoint. Soundtracked by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Makay clocks up a perfect 40 with pro-partner Maciej Zięba – all to the strains of Raye’s massively annoying Where Is My Husband! (Exclamation points are almost always a bad idea in pop songs). “This feels like Beyoncé and Josephine Baker dancing together ... fantastic,” says Oti Mabuse. “Charleston is all about sass and fun – that was all of that and more,” agrees Karen Byrne.
But where Makay soars, Traitors star Paudie Moloney continues to struggle, and the score of 24 he and Laura Nolan receive for their Viennese waltz to John Denver’s Annie’s Song feels like a goodwill gesture by the judges after Moloney declares he was dedicating it to his wife, Bernadette, watching in the audience. Pity score or not, there’s no moving him – the retired prison officer continues to pull off a jailbreak in reverse. Come what may, he’s going nowhere.
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With so few contestants left, the producers have to pad out the runtime. So there’s a group dance by the pros, plus a danceathon where the six couples bop for their lives until the judges flag them off. Paudie is first for the red card, while Eric Roberts and Arianna Favaro win outright – earning bonus points that put them at the top of the rankings, ahead of Makay.
The biggest surprise, however, is that Apprentice contestant Jordan Dargan is at last spared after being voted for the dance-off for two straight weeks. He looks relieved, while Doyle, who says that “he’s not easy to work with ... like any competitive athlete”, will feel that Orchestra Week let him down. No mellow cellos for him – and no more Dancing with the Stars, as he crashes out with next week’s semi-finals agonisingly within reach. The unkillable Paudie, meanwhile, is surely a dead cert for the grand decider itself – and, given his unassailable grip on the hearts and minds of TV voters, could even have a shot at the Glitterball Trophy.
