ON THE COVER: HOLLY CARPENTER on facing DWTS without Curtis.
Holly Carpenter was left sickened when her Dancing With The Stars partner Curtis Pritchard was attacked last week but she says the best tribute she could pay him is to use the lessons he’s given her so far to win the Glitterball trophy. And she hopes peop
Holly Carpenter has already crammed a lot of A-list living in her 27 years. Apart from being a successful model, she has won Miss Ireland, appeared on Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model and, in the last 12 months, launched her own range of bespoke jewellery. But if her star was on the rise until now, it’s set to go stratospheric when she lines out for series three of the Irish television phenomenon Dancing With The Stars, which starts tomorrow night.
‘I’ve always been a big fan of the show and I did Can’t Stop Dancing with Doireann Garrihy last year,’ she says of the show’s weekly preview programme. ‘I just love it. I have watched Strictly on the BBC but I think when it’s at home and it’s Irish, you get really invested in it. So when they gave me the call in October I said yes straight away. I didn’t really understand at the time how intense it would be but I’m happy that it is because you really need that amount of time to learn as much as we do.’
When she took a few days off from practising over the Christmas and New Year break last week, however, she had no idea that events outside her control would change the whole outlook for her Glitterball ambitions. Her professional dance partner Curtis Pritchard and his brother AJ were attacked by thugs in a nightclub in England on St Stephen’s Day, with Curtis suffering particularly bad injuries, including one to his knee that will require surgery. It was a massive shock for Holly.
‘When I got the call and heard, “Don’t panic but something has happened to Curtis”, of course the first thing I did was panic,’ she recalls. ‘When the production team told me what happened to him and his brother AJ I felt sick to my stomach. I was in total shock. All I wanted to do was speak to him and give him a big hug.
‘We spoke briefly and all he could say was that he hoped he would make a speedy recovery and we’ll be back together on the dance floor. He’s young, fit and determined so I’m really hopeful and optimistic that he will be back with us all soon. I was so excited to see him after Christmas as we had really started to get into the swing of things with our dances and we were having such a laugh together too. It feels so strange not knowing when I’ll see him again now.’
She admits that progress had been made with Curtis but starting from scratch was anything but a waltz in the park.
‘Curtis is a professional dancer so he could literally be talking to someone then go straight into a dance move like he’s in love with the person he’s dancing with and then just have a coffee,’ she says incredulously. ‘I find it extremely difficult to get into that character. So the first time we rehearsed together I found it really cringy. He wanted me to look into his eyes and stroke his cheek and I was just awkwardly laughing because I’ve never danced with a guy like that.
‘It’s quite overwhelming because I don’t have any acting experience and I’m in this costume selling a story with each dance. We don’t really have that kind of a dancing culture in Ireland. It’s not like the olden days when you went to a dance with your partner. So it’s the first time I’ve ever danced with a boy really.
‘I’ve found now that I’m actually able to let those barriers go. You have to do it because they are giving it everything.
‘There’s still a bit of a weird disconnect with the show because we are in the studios rehearsing. I’m in gym gear and I have no makeup on. But once I feel the heat of the lights and I’m on the set I know that competitive edge will kick in. I think we are a competitive group and a lot of us are in industries where you have to be competitive or someone else will take your position. I always have to be on my toes and I know that I will want to win it when the show starts. I never believe anyone who says that they are only in it to learn a new thing and have fun. You don’t enter a competition to not win it.’
Holly will join ex-Love/Hate and Fair City star Johnny Ward, rugby ace Peter Stringer, country music star Cliona Hagan and Young Offenders star Demi Isaac Oviawe on the show. The line-
“All I wanted to do was speak to Curtis and give him a big hug”
up also includes five-time All-Ireland football winner Denis Bastick, TV presenter Mairead Ronan, actress Clelia Murphy, comedian Fred Cooke, stylist Darren Kennedy and Eilish O’Carroll of Mrs Brown’s Boys.
There’s a refreshing honesty that comes with chatting to Holly. She’s not the sort of character who just signs up to take part but there is a physical toll that comes with this sort of commitment and she says that she found it initially tough on her body.
‘It is physically gruelling,’ she says. ‘I went into it thinking I would be okay because I have a personal trainer and I train four times a week at least in the gym so I’m relatively fit. But it’s a different way of using your body – it’s muscle memory that I don’t have. Holding my arms up in a waltz position is something that I have never done so I get tired really quickly.
‘Plus you’re always thinking about your toes. Back when I was modelling I would walk one foot in front of the other but when you’re dancing your toes need to be pointed outwards when you’re walking, with your feet separate, so I had to relearn how to actually walk. You’re breaking it down to that level.
‘It was okay at the start because I was dancing in my socks but the minute we went into the shoes, everything changed.
‘Luckily I’m used to wearing heels and that might be a bit of an advantage but when you’re trying to turn in them and be really quick on your feet, it’s a different story.
‘It’s important to feel a connection with your dance partner and have faith in them that they’re not going to drop you. Professional dancers are used to being swung around but I found when you have no dance experience it’s hard to just fall back and trust that they’re going to catch you. I’m grateful for how much Curtis has taught me so ➤
“I’m relatively fit but it is physically gruelling, it’s a different way of using your body”
far and I’m hoping my new partner and I can hit the ground running and do the first dance justice. I’m sure the last-minute call was a big surprise for my new partner too so I want to work hard and focus so that we can put on a great show.’
Holly admits that the current crop of celebrities have formed an instant bond. ‘We had two really long weekends together filming the TV commercial and then we were all in studios together,’ she reveals. ‘So at the start it felt like we were all together loads because we were chilling out and having lunch together. But the closer we get to the show, it’s like people are in the studios more with their partners and it’s already getting that bit more competitive so we don’t lounge around chatting as much.
‘Luckily Cliona Hagan and I are of a similar age, both single and into the same things so we’ve been out together a bit – we kind of hit it off. Peter Stringer is hilarious and I knew Darren Kennedy already and Fred Cooke is gas. We have the Whatsapp group set up already.’
Holly is no stranger to performing on the biggest of stages. She represented Ireland in the Miss World 2011 pageant in London and still looks every inch the beauty queen. She looks to have already assimilated the lithe physique of a pro-dancer.
‘I took it easy over the Christmas,’ she says. ‘Because honestly, as a woman, it doesn’t matter if I have the modelling experience or not. We are all very body conscious and the costumes are all tiny so I want to feel the best that I can feel. I don’t want to feel like I’m rolling into January feeling crap and worrying that my costume won’t fit me any more. I’ve actually lost a load of weight already – it’s funny, the hours just fly by and you realise you’ve been moving your body all day. The sweat is dripping off you and you’re tired but I love it because the music is playing in the background and you’re learning a new skill.’
What is most refreshing about Holly is her self-awareness. She possesses a wise head on such young shoulders and is fully aware of what lies ahead of her when she steps out tomorrow night. The professional judges are intimidating enough, but public perception is equally scary.
‘The judging is one thing, but then you have social media,’ she says. ‘That’s scarier than the judges’ comments. Because if Brian [Redmond] or Julian [Benson] say my neck isn’t straight or a foot is wrong then it won’t be personal. But if people are watching at home and they tweet that they don’t like my personality, that’s harder to take. At the same time, because I’ve come from a modelling background, I’ve been put in a box for years. Before I won Miss Ireland, I was me. Then suddenly I was Holly, Miss Ireland, and everyone assumed I was up myself and stuck up. I still feel that walking into a room sometimes people already think that about me.
‘They presume I’m not intelligent, that I think I’m great. So it’s great to be able to put myself out there and show my vulnerable side and personality. So yes it will be a bit difficult but my mum is always telling me to care less about Twitter. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. I should be thinking more about the judges than social media.
‘I’ve already had those comments pitched at me: Who is she? Or, isn’t she the one that used to go out with the rugby player [she used to date Cian Healy]? That sort of sh**e. And it is annoying. Because even when I do interviews to talk about my business or what I’m doing, it’s my personal life or whether I’m going out with a rugby player that is brought up. If I was a guy I would not be asked about it. It’s so hard to break away from that.
‘The show has never had a female winner and with everything that has happened this year with the #MeToo movement, I think it would be a great time for a woman to win. I really want to win. At the end of the day it is just DWTS but I think it would be great to get a female champion.’
No conversation about a dance show would be complete without mentioning the infamous ‘curse’, said to strike professional dancers and their partners on shows such as Strictly, which was hit again this year when comedian Seann Walsh and his married partner Katya Jones shared a kiss.
‘I don’t have to deal with the curse because I’m single but I can totally see how it happens,’ says Holly honestly. ‘If I had a boyfriend I could understand why he would be insecure. It’s so hands on and intimate. It’s tactile and passionate and physical, and you’re spending all day together. So if I had a jealous or insecure boyfriend I wouldn’t be a**ed with it.’
She says that being involved in a project that involves other people has also been a refreshing change for her. ‘You’re in it together, which is nice because with my career a lot of the time, I feel like I’m on my own. I don’t have an office where I can walk in every day and have a chat with people. It’s just me and there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that.
‘But I feel selfish even thinking about my position in the competition when my main concern is Curtis’s well-being. I’ve been rehearsing with Curtis five days a week for over a month now, he has been a really patient teacher and we have become great friends. I know they’ll find a great professional dancer for me while Curtis recovers though so I just have to focus and make the most of the short time we will have together before our first dance on week two of the show. I want to give it my all and make Curtis proud because I was like Bambi on ice before he started teaching me how to dance.’
She insists that the groundwork Curtis has already put in with her will be useful and he’ll never be far from her thoughts. ‘Curtis is always reminding me to smile no matter what happens during a dance so that’s the first thing I’ll have to make sure I do or I’m sure he’d call me and ask where my smile was! He has given me great tips along the way and I’m going to put them all to good use with my new partner.
‘Curtis is a really lovely guy who isn’t just close with me as his dance partner – the whole cast love him too. This has really rocked everyone but we’re all rooting for him to make a comeback soon. He really brought me out of my shell and I would love for people at home to see him back on the show as soon as possible.
‘He has been brilliant at talking me down and explaining that I have only been dancing for three weeks and this is a totally new skill, when there I am nearly crying because I can’t do a lift. I’m not a professional dancer and I just have to be a bit kinder to myself and embrace it – which I feel I have lately.’ DANCING With The Stars starts tomorrow at 6.30pm on RTE One