A new year means a new race to claim the glitterball trophy. Dancing with the Stars is back for an eighth season, so here’s everything you need to know – apart from the winner, obviously.
When does it return?
Dancing with the Stars begins on RTÉ One on Sunday, January 5th, at 6.30pm and runs until Sunday, March 16th.
Any changes?
The judging panel will expand to four, with the dancer (and 2023 pro winner) Karen Byrne joining the veteran adjudicators Loraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Arthur Gourounlian. Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy return as presenters.
Who are the contestants?
Eleven celebrities will participate in 2025, hoping to succeed the Paralympian Jason Smyth as winner. As is tradition, they range from champion athletes to showbiz veterans. Here’s a rundown of the hopefuls.
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Joanna Donnelly and Maciej Zieba
Joanna Donnelly, the meteorologist and children’s author who has worked with Met Éireann since 1995, became a TV weather forecaster in 2002. She lives in Dublin with her Dutch husband, Harm Luijkx, and their three children. Her pro partner, Maciej Zieba, a Dancing with the Stars newcomer, is a former student of the series regular Robert Rowiński.
Rhys McClenaghan and Laura Nolan
The gymnast Rhys McClenaghan won gold in the pommel horse in Paris last summer, securing Ireland its first Olympic gymnastics medal. He dances with Laura Nolan, back for her fifth Dancing with the Stars. She will hope to improve on her two semi-final finishes.
Elaine Crowley and Denys Samson
The journalist and TV presenter Elaine Crowley has been a host of Ireland AM, on Virgin Media One, since 2021. Dancing with the Stars isn’t her first reality series: in 2016 she participated in a celebrity edition of the fitness show Operation Transformation. She has the ideal dance partner in Denys Samson, who reached the final in 2022 and 2024.
Kevin Dundon and Rebecca Scott
The celebrity chef Kevin Dundon is best known for cookery shows such as Guerrilla Gourmet and as owner of Dunbrody Country House Hotel, in Co Wexford. He partners with the series newcomer Rebecca Scott, who recently featured in a group dance in the Blackpool special of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Yasmin Seky and Simone Arena
Yasmin Seky played the resourceful girlfriend of a self-destructive member of the Kinsella crime dynasty on the hit gangland thriller Kin. The actor, who is from Cabra in Dublin, is paired with the Italian pro Simone Arena, who created a splash with the 2024 finalist Blu Hydrangea.
Kayleigh Trappe and Ervinas Merfeldas
Monaghan comedian Kayleigh Trappe has 400,000 social-media followers thanks to skits in which she impersonates celebrities such as Nadine Coyle, Joanne McNally and Vogue Williams. It’s quite a change from her original job teaching senior infants. She will dance with the pro Ervinas Merfeldas, who previously twirled across the dance floor with Missy Keating, Stephanie Roche and Katja Mia.
Mickey Joe Harte and Daniela Roze
Donegal singer Mickey Joe Harte represented Ireland at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest with We’ve Got the World, coming a respectable 11th. He joins the series’ new pro dancer Daniela Roze, a five-time All-Ireland Latin dance champion from Maynooth, in Co Kildare.
Jack Woolley and Alex Vladimirov
Known for his trademark scorpion kick, the taekwondo champion Jack Woolley, who has represented Ireland at the Olympics, got his first black belt at the age of 11. He dances with another Dancing with the Stars debutante, Alex Vladimirov, who was born in Ukraine and grew up in Germany and Australia.
Gearóid Farrelly and Stephen Vincent
The stand-up comedian Gearóid Farrelly has worked in radio, appeared on TV comedy quizshows and written for The Savage Eye and The Panel. He dances with Stephen Vincent, who reached the final with the Paralympic swimmer Ellen Keane in 2022.
Aishah Akorede and Robert Rowiński
The model and beauty-pageant winner Aishah Akorede, who grew up in Leixlip, Co Kildare, and has a master’s degree in international corporate governance, represented Ireland at Miss Universe 2023. Earlier this year she appeared on the Discovery+ reality show Beauty and the Geek. Her partner, Robert Rowiński, is a two-time finalist, with Cliona Hagan in 2019 and Brooke Scullion in 2023.
Danny O’Carroll and Salome Chachua
Danny O’Carroll, who is best known for playing Buster Brady on Mrs Brown’s Boys, is the latest veteran of the Brendan O’Carroll comedy to grace Dancing with the Stars, on the heels of his aunt Eilish O’Carroll and Rory Cowan. He dances with the two-time finalist Salome Chachua.
Who’ll win?
It’s obviously far too early to take an informed view – but that hasn’t stopped bookmakers from installing Kayleigh Trappe as favourite, followed by Gearóid Farrelly and Rhys McClenaghan.
