I don’t know why people don’t vote for me!
By Eoin Murphy McGregor admits... She’s a judges’ favourite but keeps finding herself in the dance-off. Erin
AS AMANDA Byram made the familiar announcement that Erin McGregor would be in the Dancing With The Stars dance-off for the third time, the former bodybuilder’s shoulders slumped ever so slightly. She glanced at partner Ryan McShane with a look that seemed to say, ‘here we go again’.
Then she dusted herself down, gathered her thoughts and launched once again into a smouldering tango, which impressed the judges enough to save her again, this time at the expense of Rob Heffernan.
The Olympian can take heart from the fact he’s not the first person to lose out to Erin in the head-to-head. Since the dance-off was introduced, Erin has been chosen by the judges ahead of presenter Bernard O’Shea and model Alannah Beirne.
So what is it that’s left Erin in three of the four dance-offs so far in this year’s series? Why are viewers not voting for her? Is it snobbery against the working-class mother-of-one?
‘I don’t know, I really don’t know why people don’t vote for me,’ she says. ‘Let’s face facts. I’m not a well-known public figure, I’m new to this business and I accept that now.
‘There are a lot of great characters in this contest as well so people obviously recognise them over me. Maybe that’s why they’re getting the votes over me but I really don’t know because I can’t control it.
‘But after the first dance-off I just let go of what people thought of me because I can’t control that and as soon as I let go, I just danced to be free and it was wonderful. It was so uplifting and the ability to let go was just the biggest reward I have got from the competition.’
Whatever the reason for the lack of public support, the sister of UFC star Conor McGregor won’t let it get her down.
‘Maybe it’s a family trait but I don’t do things by half,’ she says. ‘Anything I do in my life I give it 110%. Taking this show on was fulfilling a childhood dream.
‘I have always wanted to do something like this and I knew if I signed up to the show there was no place to back out.
‘The place I was coming from was that I would dip my toe in and then leave and just stay at home,’ she
‘The ability to let go is the biggest reward’
says of committing to things then backing out. ‘So there was probably a little bit of signing up to take the choice of leaving away. I can’t cry and say the baby has been up all night or I don’t feel like leaving the house today. I wouldn’t let myself use those excuses once I had committed. I needed that fear, that military-style life to get myself in gear. And subconsciously this was the better thing for me to do.’
The mention of the baby keeping her up is a timely one, as Erin has indeed been up all night before our chat with a sick toddler, 19-monthold Harry. She also seems to have picked up the bug, which has forced her to cancel vital rehearsals.
‘The child vomited all over the bed last night and all I could think of was “why is this happening to me now”?’ she says. ‘Now I’ve picked up whatever viral infection that he has but I just have to dust myself off over the next few hours and try to get a little training in. We have two dances this week, which will hopefully get me through to the final.’
The 36-year-old is clearly keen to make it to the last stage of the competition — a nod to the previous pressures she faced as a competitive bodybuilder. However, after the birth of her son, her fitness life took a back seat and DWTS was her first foray out of her life as a stay-athome mum.
Erin has racked up tens of thousands of followers on Instagram and Snapchat in recent years, as she and her sister Aoife document their life- styles following their famous brother across the globe.
On his end, Conor has more than 22 million followers on social media, who idolise him and would be only too happy to rally around his sister if he so instructed them. So has she asked him to help?
‘Conor is very supportive and has been from day one and does back me,’ she insists. ‘But at the end of the day this is a dance competition and I want my skills to shine and for people to vote for the best dancer.
‘Obviously I do campaign for votes, that’s part of it. But I want people to vote for me because they want to vote for me and not for any other reason. I want people to keep me dancing because they enjoy watching me dance.
‘I deserve my place, I feel I have been dancing my way through the competition.’
Social media has been both a blessing and a curse for Erin and she has openly battled trolls who attacked her for taking part in the series. But she is adamant that she has not let the haters win out.
‘It’s been a real rollercoaster of a journey for me right from the start,’ she says. ‘The emotional journey has been huge. There were times when I felt like I had come up against quite
a few obstacles but without those I don’t believe I would have got as far as I have in the competition.
‘I’m back to really enjoying the show and I’m really sad that next week is the last week and that it will all be over. I’ll put the entire dance-off threats behind me and just focus on what I can do.
‘At the end of the day this was always way more than a dance competition for me. I took it on for a lot of reasons. One of the main reasons was because I always allowed other people’s opinions to hold me back.
‘That’s been the main epiphany I have had on the show, I have gone, feck it, I’m actually all right in my own skin.
‘I am very privileged to be still in it and I never took this opportunity for granted. If I go out then it will be because I have given my all and it won’t be down to anyone else.’
Despite Erin professing that her self-confidence has increased — backed by enthusiastic comments from the judges every week — she still has doubts about her dancing ability. ‘The doubts are there all week,’ she says. ‘You feel like you can’t do the routines because you’re not good enough and the nerves will get me. But when I get out there I leave everything at the door and I have those few minutes to prove to myself that I can do anything.
‘Going out there and doing something that you thought you couldn’t do, that’s an amazing experience and it is a lesson I hope to bring into my life after the show ends.’
Tomorrow night each remaining couple will perform twice for the judges, with the bottom two going into the semi-final eliminator.
Erin is half-expecting to be in the bottom two and says that, with her partner Ryan, they are just trying to get their routine to a point where they will be the best in the competition and win the dance-off.
‘At the end of the day, all myself and Ryan have control over is the dance. We go in and work and take what the judges say and try to improve and give it our all.
‘Ryan is the kindest person ever. I didn’t really know that he had that bad boy reputation but he is an amazing person and, despite what you hear, he is definitely an old softie. He might go mad at me for saying that but he is and he’s a great teacher.
‘You have to remember he is under severe pressure to get me into the final so he’s doing whatever he can to get us through to the next round and that is admirable.
‘He is working to the bone to do whatever it takes to make sure that my dance is flawless enough to get through.’
Erin says she is determined to enjoy her time left on the show — whether or not she makes it to the last week. But she believes that a shot at the title would repay all those people who have got behind her and helped her to be the best performer she can be.
‘Getting to the final, oh my god,’ she says. ‘Every time I think of that I get really emotional and upset because this has been such a journey for me. It has been long and tough and I just know that I don’t want it to ever end.
‘I get way more support than negative comments and I suppose the thing I’m learning in life is that you cannot worry what other people think of you.
‘If I spend my time searching for acceptance from people I’m never going to get anywhere. More than anything, I’ve learned to accept myself and be proud of my journey.
‘It was never about trying to change people’s opinions of me. It was about me trying to accept myself and not let other people’s opinions hold me back.
‘For a girl who went into the show maybe as an underdog, I never changed. I stayed true to who I was and I have got more out of this experience than I could have ever imagined.’
‘I don’t want this journey to ever end’