If I have to get up close & personal with my partner then I will.. & my boyfriend is fine with it
ANNA Geary is ready to get hot and steamy with Dancing With The Stars pro Kai Widdrington – and she has her lover’s blessing.
The GAA The All-ireland winning camogie star and Ireland’s Fittest Family coach is rehearsing a “fierce” tango for this weekend’s show.
And she said understanding boyfriend Kev Sexton has given her the green light to put on a sexy display.
Anna, 30, told the Irish Mirror: “We had a great chat about it before it started. He knew what it was going to entail.
“Essentially it’s like going to work. When I train on the pitch I do whatever is necessary to get myself into position and do as well as I can.
“And the dancing is the same – if I need to get up close and personal with my dance partner I will.”
The tango is one of the most anticipated dances of the series and the Cork woman said rehearsals have been intense.
She added: “Talk about throwing me in at the deep end for my first solo dance. I think every dance, when you don’t know how to do it, is going to be very hard.
“I have a lot of steps. The routine is fierce. That’s the character I have to get in to. I’m not allowed to smile.
“But the hardest part for me is losing the inhibitions and just embracing it.”
But Anna said a fun atmosphere was helping her through the steep learning curve.
She added: “The dancers are such professionals and they make you feel at ease. I laugh as much at rehearsals as when I practise and I feel that’s really important.”
The superfit RTE star said she had already noticed changes in her body and was worried her dance partner wouldn’t be able to lift her.
She said: “I have a lot more muscle. I think Kai was a bit shocked when he first saw it.
“I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to lift me. I was worried I’d be the only girl who wouldn’t be able to do a lift.”
Anna, who was helping launch Littlewoods Ireland’s second year of Camogie Leagues Sponsorship yesterday, said it’s important to send the right message to young women.
She added: “I’m the first and only sportswoman in the competition and for me that’s really important to show younger girls that you can have a different body type. I’ve a very different body to the rest of the girls.
I’m athletic and muscular. I want to show girls you don’t have to choose between one or the other – you can play sports and look great in a dress and dance your socks off.”
The beauty, who represented Cork in the 2014 Rose of Tralee, laughed off claims she is hot favourite to waltz off with the Glitterball trophy. She said: “I think that’s hilarious. Maybe people will change their minds when they see me dancing.” Littlewoods Ireland Ambassador Anna said she hopes she doesn’t let her nerves get to her on the night. She added: “I played camogie for 25 years and I still get nervous running on to a pitch for fear I’ll show myself up. I make mistakes every single time I play. This is the same thing, it’s about reacting to mistakes and moving on.” Anna admitted she would love to land more TV gigs following her stint on the hit dance show.
“Sport is my passion. I work as a performance coach, that’s my day job. I love working with people. I hope this will give me an opportunity to explore possibilities in the media world.”
But the Claudine Keane lookalike said she’s too short to be snapped up by a modelling agency. She added: “I’m only 5ft 5ins. I’ve an admiration for the
likes of Thalia [Heffernan], who I see at rehearsals as she is going out with [professional dancer Ryan Mcshane]. Modelling is tough. But all of these are things I can look back on and say ‘what an experience’.”
Meanwhile, Dancing with the Stars started its second series on Sunday with 60,000 fewer viewers than last year.
An average audience of 580,500 watched the show hosted by Amanda Byram and Nicky Byrne compared to 640,000 in January 2017. But it accounted
for 38% of of the audience share – and 1.2million tuned in during the two-hour show as Marty Morrissey, Rob Heffernan, Bernard O’shea, Jake Carter and Tomas O’leary danced with their partners.
RTE’S Adrian Lynch said: “It’s wonderful to see so many people engaging with the return of the series.”
This week sees Anna Geary, Deirdre O’kane, Norah Casey, Maia Dunphy, Alannah Beirne and Erin Mcgregor take the floor for the first time.
The hardest part for me is losing my inhibitions ...and just embracing it
ANNA GEARY DUBLIN,
YESTERDAY