Dancing with the Stars: Des Bishop bares his chest and his soul - and gets sent home

Love is all around us this week on Dancing with the Stars' Valentine's Special, but that love – as cruel and fickle as it so often is – did not extend to comedian Des Bishop and his partner Giulia Dotta. Despite the judges saying Bishop is now a serious contender in the competition, it wasn't enough for the viewers and he is the fourth celebrity to be sent home.

Dancing the Paso Doble to U2's When Love Comes to Town, Bishop bared his chest and bared his soul. Not only that, he swore live on air, delivering the second bit of scandal in the series (the first being Hughie Maughan's fake-tan disaster). While Twitter was bombarded with people frantically trying to find out what Bishop said, the chatter or the 24 points from the judges could not save him and we have to say goodbye to our exotic, silver-haired fox.

Using a stationed gondola as a prop and dancing the foxtrot to Frank and Nancy Sinatra's Somethin' Stupid, RTE news correspondent Teresa Mannion and John Nolan play it cute. Even though they lob the gob behind a wicker hat in the romantic fake canals of Venice, judge Darren Bennett, who is standing in for Julian Benson again this week, says that their routine is just too safe and they score a low 15.

Actress Aoibhín Garrihy and Vitali Kozmin are left totally breathless after speed-jiving to Cher and Meat Loaf's Dead Ringer for Love. The routine is an homage to hairspray rock and the judges can't contain their infatuation as they trip over themselves dishing out compliments. Brian Redmond says it's the best jive in the competition so far and the couple are placed at the top of the leaderboard with 28 points.

Telling the tale of a forbidden office romance through the art of the tango, Aidan O'Mahony and Valeria Milova manage to do what was once thought to be unachievable and dull up Phil Collins' Easy Lover. Bennett says that their dance lacks drama and character and Redmond criticises O'Mahony's footwork, a bitter pill for any footballer to swallow, and they walk away with 19 points.

Dancing the quickstep to Grease's You're the One That I Want, Katherine Lynch feels that she is more Olivia Newtonforbes than Newton-John and her partner Kai Widdrington is more John Revolting than Travolta. However, judge Lorraine Barry insists that their routine is dazzling and they score 21 points.

Continuing with the 1950s aesthetic, Dayl Cronin and Ksenia Zsikhotska foxtrot around an Eddie Rocket's diner booth to Charlie Puth's Marvin Gaye. To the untrained eye, their foxtrot is without a flaw, but Bennett and Redmond come in hard on them, saying that their routine lacks fluidity. The couple remain safe in with 22 points.

As sports broadcaster Des Cahill hops around like the Easter Bunny to Elton John and Kiki Dee's Don't Go Breaking My Heart, his partner Karen Byrne is left doing all of the hard work with their cha-cha-cha. The judges are not entertained and give them 12 points, placing them at the bottom of the leaderboard. Barry is left heartbroken by this routine and Redmond begs with Cahill to believe in himself more. While this feels like an intervention, Des, you are loved. Never doubt that.

Red Rock star Denise McCormack and Ryan McShane normally stun the judges but the compliments for the American Smooth feel a little cold this week. Redmond says that they were inhibited by the balloon prop and Barry goes Inception on us when she applauds their inclusion of the foxtrot within the American Smooth. A dance within a dance. Well. I never. Cool compliments aside, with 25 points, they are in second position on the leaderboard, just behind Garrihy and Kozmin.

Next week is Switch Up Week, which means that our celebrities will be paired up with different dancing partners. For Des Cahill and Teresa Mannion, who both so heavily on their partners to get them through each week, this will be a challenging week but for McCormack, Lynch, Cronin and Garrihy, it should be a breeze.