Deirdre gets to dance on!
FIONA MAGENNIS CHATS TO DEIRDRE O’KANE ABOUT HER IMPRESSIVE OUTINGS SO FAR ON DANCING WITH THE STARS
LOCAL funny woman Deirdre O’Kane proved she has star power in spades with her amazing Tango on Sunday night and now she’s hoping the people of Drogheda will get behind her and show their support to keep her in the competition. The comedian and actress, known for her high energy stand up shows and performances in everything from Moone Boy to Noble, admits she was initially reluctant to take part in the show.
‘I was totally reluctant to sign up and now I’m addicted,’ Deirdre told the Drogheda Independent. ‘ The only dance experience I have is the Irish dancing I did growing up as a child in Drogheda in the boxing club with Mona Roddy, but that’s it. I used to get a bag of chips in Aggie O’Briens on the way home as a treat.
‘I had sort of passed on it because I had so much else on and have a tour coming up that I need to write a show for but they said to me just go into the studio with a dancer for an hour. So I did and that was it, I kind of got bitten by the bug. Ultimately I just found the no answer so boring and I hate January, February and March with a passion.
‘I’m so glad I said yes in the end. Who would miss this madness? It’s a real rollercoaster, your emotions go very high and very low. When you get something right you’re delighted and then you go on to the next bit and you’re useless.’
Despite a setback over Christmas when a bad case of the flu left her close to having to pull out of the show, Deirdre and her dance partner John Edward Nolan impressed both the judges and the viewers with her fast paced Jive as her first dance.
‘We did three weeks of practice before Christmas and then I was completely floored with the flu, I had vertigo, dizziness the whole lot. I was going to pull out I said I have nothing in the tank and then I just rallied. I nearly had a heart attack when I heard the Jive was our first dance, it’s a very hard dance to hear, very fast but it was great fun and it was no harm to get it out of the way.’
The judges were clearly impressed with her performance and she went on to wow them once again on Sunday night with a sulty performance of the Tango.
While she is clearly loving her time on the show, Deirdre admits the long hours are gruelling.
‘It’s tough to fit it all in,’ she said. ‘I’m doing six hours today and I’m literally crawling into bed at night. We’ve been working so hard and then and then you have go home and do the laundry, try and give the kids some of my time never mind the fact that you have to do your proper job as well and try and write for the new show.’
However, she says the juggling act is all worth it for the adrenaline rush of performing on the night and says even her family have been impressed with her moves so far.
‘I WAS TOTALLY RELUCTANTTO SIGN UP IN THE BEGINNING AND NOW I’M COMPLETELY ADDICTED’
‘ They were really chuffed, they thought I did very well and they’d say if they didn’t! I don’t think they were expecting much, they were a bit fearful that I was going to show them up altogether so I think when they saw me on the first night they thought ‘oh jesus she’s actually alright!’.
Her proud parents have also been glued to the TV each Sunday night at home in Clogherhead and Deirdre has a close circle of girlfriends in Drogheda who have been cheering her on every step of the way.
‘I have the most amazing gang of girlfriends in Drogheda and they’ve been so so supportive. They’re just amazing and I’d say there’ll be a few hoolies if I get further in the competition,’ she revealed.
With her new found love of dance, Deirdre is ambitious to stay in the competition as long as she can and is hoping the people of Drogheda will get behind her and show their support for all the hard work and effort she has put in so far.
Tune in to Dancing with the Stars on Sunday RTÉ One at 6:30pm.