I would love to Judge Roy Keane
» Brian reveals Man United legend is dream contestant » Straight-talker denies he is Mr Nasty of hit telly panel
BRIAN Redmond has revealed his all-time dream contestant for Dancing With The Stars – firebrand soccer icon Roy Keane.
The straight-talking judge on the hit RTE show reckons if they could land the feisty Corkman it would be the stuff of legend.
Brian, 46, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I’d love to see Rory Mcilroy or Saoirse Ronan give it a go, but my absolute dream would be Roy Keane who I’m in awe of.
“As a die-hard Manchester United fan myself he’d be getting 10s every week, not just out of fear but because I’m a big fan and he’s my idol.”
Dad-of-two Brian has gained a reputation as the toughest critic on the show but he insists his advice is always constructive and well-meant.
Next Sunday sees hopefuls Rosanna Davison, Eileen Dunne, David Whelan, Blu Hydrangea, Miriam Mullins, Laura Fox, Shane Quigley Murphy, Davy Russell, Katja Mia, Rory Cowan and Jason Smyth take to the dancefloor.
Brian said: “I’m not Mr Nasty. I’d say I’m a divil more than anything else.
“I do enjoy a kind of pressure... there are certain standards that people need to aspire to, in order to create great dancing.
“Having spent my whole life being involved in competitive ballroom dancing, I know that as well as anybody else from that world does.
“I suppose I like to push them to see how far they can reach. I like mischievous fun, the cheeky wink and the tough comments.
“I’ve never had a member of the public in seven years come up to me and tell me I’m too tough.”
Asked about his prickliest encounter Brian surprisingly revealed that fun-loving GAA commentator Marty Morrissey was the one who bit back the most.
He said: “He was probably the person that scowled at me the most.
“Every time I come across him, he still brings up the fact of some of the scores I gave him.
“Well it [Marty’s dancing] wasn’t really great was it. One week, he did a cha cha cha.
“I’ve never seen somebody do a cha cha cha and not really dance that much to be quite honest with you.”
He added: “Some of the biggest scowls have come from the pro dancers.
“Karen Byrne for instance has no qualms about coming forward about what she thinks about what I’ve said about her partners over the years.
“She can be a feisty one, she will fight tooth and nail when it comes to her celeb and has no problem putting me in my box.”
Brian, who won eight All-ireland titles and lifted his first national trophy age 14, admitted he has reduced contestants to tears over the years. But he explained: “People have cried but not necessarily because of the reasons that you think. When I tend to be tough on them that’s not when they cry. “It’s the moment where I actually go, ‘you know that was absolutely fantastic’. “It’s not sometimes the critical moments that tend to result in them gritting their teeth, or scowling at me, it’s when you point out they’ve done something important really.”
Dubliner Brian also opened up about having the odd “spat” with his fellow judges Loraine Barry and Arthur Gourounlian.
He revealed: “We all have different priorities. It’s like the perfect Haribo mix really... you’ve got something in there that’s got a bit of sourness now and again. So there’s something in it for everybody.
“Loraine is someone from a dance perspective I’ve looked up to. Loraine was winning world titles when I was only learning to dance.
“Arthur is just so loud... Arthur and I tend to be the bold boys in the classdance room, most of the time we enjoy taking the mickey out of one another.
“We laugh so much when we’re together, there’s a different dynamic with us all but as long as it works on screen that’s all that matters.”
Brian admitted he feared the show could face the chop when the RTE payments scandal broke in June of this year prompting a public backlash and spending cuts.
He said: “Before we got confirmation it crossed my mind – what’s going to happen with Dancing With The Stars? But it ‘FEISTY’ Karen Byrne does so much for so many people that show, that you’d like to think that it would be a priority for RTE... a great entertainment show that keeps so many people entertained right through those winter months. “You like to presume it wasn’t up for consideration to go.” And Brian, who hosts a daytime radio show on KCLR FM which serves Carlow and Kilkenny, stressed the importance of funding public service broadcasting. He said: “Local radio stations like KCLR benefit
from the licence fee. People wrongly assume that every cent and every penny that’s paid licence fees all goes to RTE, it doesn’t.
“It’s not just RTE that’s funded out of the licence fee. If you’re listening to your local station it’s funded by the licence fee.
“So I think getting a good strong structure in place around funding public service broadcasting, which is not just for RTE, is an important thing to get right.
“Never more than now have the Irish public realised that we need public service broadcasting.” The new series of Dancing With The Stars kicks off on RTE One next Sunday, January 7, and Brian for one is looking forward to the positive vibes it brings. He said: “It’s a long road from the Christmas trees coming down until the new shoots of spring start to arrive just after St Patrick’s Day.
“It’s just an honour to be able to do something small on a Sunday, even for a couple of hours to be able to get away from the doom and gloom and the cost of living crisis.”
I never had member of public tell me I’m too tough BRIAN REDMOND ON HIS JUDGING COMMENTS