Battle stations
Now Deirdre and Denise prepare for talent show face-off as RTÉ and TV3 in new year ratings battle
RTÉ and TV3 are gearing up for a big new year battle of the ratings with their talent show face-off. Actor and comedian Deirdre O’Kane is the first celebrity to sign on the dotted line for the second series of RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars, which returns in January. Speaking about the show, she said: ‘I’m excited and nervous but I can’t wait to take part. ‘This is a whole new experience for me but what better way to banish the January blues than to take to the dance floor!’ Amanda Byram and Nicky Byrne will return once again to host DWTS which was a family favourite last year. Other celebrities rumoured to take part include Conor McGregor’s partner Dee Devlin, former Xposé presenter Ruth O’Neill and weatherman Gerald Fleming. Gerald is due to retire at the end of the year, but a source has confirmed to the MoS that he has been shortlisted for the show. ‘The contracts are being signed off on at the moment,’ they said. ‘Gerald is in the mix. We also are talking to a retired Leinster rugby player.’ Meanwhile, over at TV3, British TV and radio presenter Denise van Outen is relishing her new role as a judge on Ireland’s Got Talent, alongside Louis Walsh, Michelle Visage and Jason Byrne.
The beauty is busy working 17 hours a day as the IGT crew tour the country searching for finalists for the live shows which will be held in The Helix in DCU.
But showing no signs of fatigue, Denise added a touch of festive flair this week in a thigh-skimming red dress when she took a break from filming to launch luxury tan Bellamianta at Boots in Liffey Valley.
TV presenter Lucy Kennedy is the new host of Ireland’s Got Talent in which the nation votes for its winner. Speaking at the launch of TV3’s autumn schedule Louis Walsh said: ‘This will be the biggest search for talent that Ireland has ever seen. See you at the auditions, where we are going to prove to everybody that Ireland’s got talent.’