Eilish O’Carroll on why she’s ditched Winnie McGoogan’s rollers for sequins on DWTS
not a spring chicken and that can be an issue with dancing. I remember when I first met everyone — and they are lovely people — I felt as though I had walked into a kindergarten class and I was the head teacher.
‘So I had to do something about that thinking process because it was putting me at a disadvantage before we had even started practising.
‘I think dance is an ageless thing as I believe that any performance is ageless. Nobody asks an artist what their age is, they just admire the work. The same with an actress. Of course you have to be young and beautiful to get the sexy parts. To get the really meaty parts and the character parts you have to be older and wiser.
‘So there is a bonus for everything. But so far I am dealing with being the oldest in the contest and it is a work in progress. I have to remind myself regularly not to let it bother me.’
Eilish takes a moment to rub her feet and slip on some comfy slippers.
‘The physical aspect has been okay, touch wood’, she says. ‘I actually thought it would be a big obstacle for me but so far it hasn’t. I am not as physically fit as the others. But I believe that I could get there. I doubted that initially but now I feel that if I really work at it, I could really improve things.
‘It is very early days and as the weeks go on, it will get harder. But I will put a lot more into it as well so I am optimistic about the physical challenges ahead. I don’t honestly know what I am physically capable of but so far I have dealt with it.’