Whowill waltz off with the Glitterball?
Chat that drove Johnny to place in final of DWTS
DANCING With The Stars finalist Johnny Ward revealed an argument with his dying father drove him to succeed in the competition.
His beloved dad John Ward, 72, died at the beginning of the month after a battle with cancer.
Johnny told the Irish Mirror: “The last words my father said to me were ‘f**k off ’.
“And it was because we had an argument about me not wanting to continue in the show.
“I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to be there for him, but he was saying I was keeping him going.
“The one thing he said, because he was so angry, and annoyed and upset with me, and he just told myself and [dance partner] Emily [Barker] he was going to try and stay alive for the final.
“So then we wanted to get to the final for him, but then he died three days after that.
“And I suppose when that is the last thing you have you kind of have, as much as you don’t want to be there, you have to say, look, it’s what said, let’s just work now to get to the final.”
The Love/hate actor, who is up against Mairead Ronan and Cliona Hagan tomorrow, feels he doesn’t “have a chance” at taking home the trophy, dubbing the competition as “the year of the woman”.
He said: “Honestly, getting to the final, as the last lad, feels like winning. It’s the year of the woman, everyone knows it, it has been since day one.
“So what myself and Emily are going to do is go out there and look back with no regrets and leave it all on the dancefloor.
“Getting to the final is just the best feeling. It’s incredible.
“Just with the pressure that was on with my father asking me to do it, so just getting there and having to do it in a very difficult way of being in the danceoff again.
“Should we have been in the dance-off if it was a dance competition? No, but it is all about the public vote and you start to realise you don’t have a chance at winning it, but it doesn’t make a difference, it is only a glitterball at the end of the day, it is not going to change your life.”
Fellow finalist Cliona added: “I think that’s just speculation. It would be great to get a female winner, but I have to say Johnny Ward is amazing.
“What a dancer and amazing person. I would just be so delighted if any of us won. Whoever wins at this point, fair play but I am just so happy to have even got to this point.”
And Mairead added: “I’m so delighted to be there I’m more excited than anything.
“It’s John’s second year in the final but he says pressure is for tyres.
“He’s the most successful pro in Dancing with the Stars Ireland.”
Dad said he was going to try and stay alive for the final JOHNNY WARD YESTERDAY