Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Rhys McClenaghan and Laura Nolan crowned Dancing with the Stars champions

17/03/2025

After 11 spectacular shows filled with glitz and glamour, highs and lows and captivating dances along the way, Rhys McClenaghan and his pro partner Laura Nolan have been crowned the winners of Dancing with the Stars 2025.

Commenting on winning series 8 and taking home the coveted Glitterball trophy, Rhys said: I don't have any words!

The final four couples to reach the final after an outstanding season were Danny O'Carroll and Salome Chachua, Kayleigh Trappe and Ervinas Merfeldas, Jack Woolley and Alex Vladimirov and Rhys McClenaghan and Laura Nolan.

The grand finale of series eight of Dancing with the Stars opened with a dazzling number from the pro-dancers, finalists and judges to Everybody Dance by Cedric Gervais x Franklin feat. Nile Rodgers.

The competition kicked in as the couples took to the floor for their first dance of the evening; the Judges' Choice, which tasked each couple with performing a routine from a previous week.

First on the floor tonight was Mrs. Brown's Boys actor, Danny O'Carroll and his partner Salome Chachua. The pair danced their Charleston from week two to Don't Blame it On Me by Michael Bubl .

Judge Loraine Barry said: I feel the trust between you and Salome has built up. You have started a brilliant final tonight.

Judge Arthur Gourounlian said: You absolutely smashed it, you took it to another level. That was electrifying, exhilarating and simply unforgettable.

Judge Brian Redmond said: More fluid, more energetic, more entertainment, great start!

Judge Karen Byrne said: You deserve your place in the final. It was slick, you looked like you were enjoying yourself!

Danny and Salome scored 39 points from the judges.

Next up, Taekwondo athlete, Jack Woolley and his pro-partner Alex Vladimirov threw it back to week five with their Dedicated Dance to Jack's friend Kellie Harrington: an American Smooth to Grace by The Wolfe Tones.

Arthur said: Every week you come here you shine bright. This wasn't just a great dance, this will go down in DWTS history as the best ever! Normally I would say J'adore, but for the weekend that's in it I will say: is gr liom!

Brian said: Big smiley head on me! I liked this dance the first time around but I absolutely lvoed it tonight.

Karen said: You really move people with this dance. I'm still not the better of seeing you dance to this song again. I feel this dance sums up your journey, and signifies such an amazing partnership that you and Alex have.

Loraine said: It was gentle, pure and heartwarming. This dance will always be an iconic performance on Dancing with the Stars.

Jack and Alex scored 40 points from the judges.

Social media star Kayleigh Trappe and her partner Ervinas Merfeldas were hoping to recapture the judges' adoration a second time around with their routine from Love Week, a Salsa to Christina Aguilera's Let There Be Love.

Brian said: Tonight, it's all or nothing and you've certainly come out giving it your all. You are certainly fighting and deserving of this place in the final.

Karen said: This dance shows how much you've grown. I think you should be so proud of yourself, you've grown immensely the two of you together.

Loraine said: Tonight you've come out shining. You've gone into those lifts with less fear. This is a good night for you.

Arthur: To me you have found your wings and you are flying. You have proved that you belong here in the final. I'm so beyond proud of you.

Kayleigh and Ervinas scored 38 points from the judges.

Olympic gymnast Rhys McClenaghan reprised his Movie Week role of Spider-Man, as he and his professional partner Laura Nolan danced the Charleston to the iconic theme tune.

Karen said: You're the real life Irish Spiderman! This routine from beginning to end, it was pure and utter perfection.

Loraine said: Absolutely exhilarating from start to finish. Is there any chance they can do it again?

Arthur said: Your power is mesmerising. From gymnast to dancer, to me you have movement and rhythm in your DNA!

Brian said: You played the hero tonight but you're also an Olympic champion. You have become a real life superhero. Exceptional.

Rhys and Laura scored 40 points from the judges.

After the voting lines opened, it was down to business, as each couple performed their Showdance a freestyle performance that allowed them to combine different dance styles and showcase the creativity and skills they developed throughout their Dancing with the Stars journey.

Danny O'Carroll and Salome Chachua danced to Rock this Party by Bob Sinclair.

Loraine said: You rocked it, you got the party going. That was truly slick.

Arthur said: You have proven time and time again you're a force to be reckoned with. This is an incredible party I'm delighted to have been a part of.

Brian said: The Showdance is generally about summing up your journey on the show, but I think you summed yourself up as a person. It was full of determination, character and pure honest hard work.

Karen said: I feel you've set the standard now for the Showdances.

Danny and Salome scored a total of 37 from the judges.

Jack Woolley and Alex Vladimirov performed to Years & Years' version of Lady Gaga's anthem The Edge of Glory.

Arthur said: I truly have no words left to say. You will be remembered forever on this show.

Brian said: You've got that skillset, that Taekwondo athlete in you, and you've waited until the final to show us that. I clapped all the way through it, I don't think I've ever done that! You have been phenomenal.

Karen said: We expected it to be unbelievable. It was brilliant!

Loraine: There was so much electricity. Everything means the world to you, you give it your all. I can't believe you put in so much salsa, tan
LINK: https://about.rte.ie/2025/03/17/rhys-mcclenaghan-and-laura-nolan-crown...
See more stories from rte

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

22/09/2026

Young Journalist Award 2026: Meet the Final 12

From Malaysia to Mexico and from DR Congo to Ukraine, this year's 12 finalists for the 2026 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award tell extra...

22/09/2026

ESPN, Precision Lasers Light Up NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas

The annual preseason content-gathering event brought 36 NHL players to Las Vegas, where ESPN used 2.5 kilowatts of laser power and a motion-control camera syste...

22/09/2026

Neumann Introduces KK 104 A and KK 105 A Wireless Capsule Heads

Neumann has introduced the KK 104 A (cardioid) and KK 105 A (supercardioid) wireless capsule heads, succeeding the KK 204 and KK 205. The new capsules are compa...

22/09/2026

NFL and TMRW Sports Announce Pro Flag Showcase During Super Bowl LXI Week

The NFL and TMRW Sports have announced a new annual Pro Flag Showcase to be held during Super Bowl LXI week in Los Angeles. The event will feature top flag foot...

22/09/2026

Washington State University Unveils New Daktronics Video Board and Audio System at Gesa Field

Washington State University has unveiled a new end zone video display and audio ...

22/09/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Disney's Dave Johnson on ESPN's New 4K HDR Distribution Pipeline and What It Means for Super Bowl LXI and Beyond

Disney's SVP of Live Operations and Engineering details the technology behin...

22/09/2026

Cosm Promotes Mazen Alawar to SVP of Marketing, Alexis Scalice to VP of Cosm Studios

Cosm has announced two senior promotions. Mazen Alawar has been promoted to SVP,...

22/09/2026

Mississippi State University Extends Camera Relationship with KOKUSAI DENKI

Mississippi State University's University Television Center has purchased four KOKUSAI DENKI SK-UHD7000-S2 cameras since 2024, with plans to add two more, a...

22/09/2026

Net Insight Appoints Christine Kjellvard as Interim CFO

Net Insight has announced that Christine Kjellvard will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2026. Kjellvard has previously held in...

22/09/2026

Net Insight Launches Zyntai TimeNode Access PTP Grandmaster for Edge Sites

Net Insight has announced Zyntai TimeNode Access, a compact PTP Grandmaster designed for distributed edge sites. The product carries secure, precise time across...

22/09/2026

The Weight Explores the High Cost of Freedom in the Depression Era

Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...

22/09/2026

Avalanche Tones introduce Noise Suite

Second high-gain tone plug-in released Following on from their debut release, Chainsaw Suite, Avalanche Tones have announced the launch of their second plug...

22/09/2026

LW6 wireless headphones from Lewitt Audio

Uncompressed audio with below 6ms of latency Lewitt's have just introduced their first pair of headphones which, despite being aimed primarily at studio...

22/09/2026

Neumann launch the KK 104 A & KK 105 A

Two new capsule heads for Sennheiser wireless systems Neumann have announced the upcoming launch of the KK 104 A and KK 105 A, a pair of new premium condens...

22/09/2026

Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance

Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance We're excited to share an important update about the future of Apogee plugins. Apogee plugins are moving to Pl...

22/09/2026

SipRadius honored with a Technology And Engineering Emmy...

Parkland, Florida, US, September 22, 2026: SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, has been honored wit...

22/09/2026

VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, brows and ears

VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, bro...

22/09/2026

Chile's TV+ Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design

Chile's TV Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton September 22, 2026 0 Comments URSA Broadcast G2 brings versatility...

22/09/2026

OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing

OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing Brie Clayton September 22, 2026 0 Comments Image courtesy of Deposit Photos Business and ...

22/09/2026

Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music Festival

Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music F...

22/09/2026

New TVU Pocket Offers Broadcast Features In Phone-Sized Unit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Operative Launches Unified Platform for Advertising and Broadcast Management

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Element Launches New TiVo-Powered Smart TVs in the U.S.

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

NOAA Taps Tomorrow.io for Improved U.S. Weather Forecasts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Gray Media Promotes Tim Maloney to GM and Director of Sales at WBKO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Reports: Paramount Reaches Settlement with State AGs in Antitrust Suit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

New Research Lays Out Streaming Services Best Defense Against Churn

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Sinclair Expands The National News Desk

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Paramount Settles Antitrust Lawsuit over WBD Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

U.S. Broadband Industry Investment Hits $92.6 Billion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Sky commissions Tupac murder trial documentary from Passion Pictures & Propagate Content

From Academy Award-winning Passion Pictures and BAFTA-winning director Marian Mo...

22/09/2026

Wi-Fi, phones and power lines: understanding EMF exposure

Whether it be from the sun or from our phones and other devices, we are all exposed to electromagnetic radiation in some shape or form. With the dramatic growth...

22/09/2026

Comscore's latest AI Intelligence Report Shows Competition Intensifying as Claude and Gemini Gain Ground on ChatGPT

Comscore's latest AI Intelligence Report Shows Competition Intensifying as C...

22/09/2026

The Factory-X Project Sets Standards for Data Sovereignty in Industry

The Factory-X Project Sets Standards for Data Sovereignty in Industry Arvato Systems Brings Digital Sovereignty to Industrial Practice Factory-X Successfully...

22/09/2026

Apple opens Apple Music Hall, a\u00A0state-of-the-art live music venue in London - PRESS RELEASE - Posted on 21 September 2026

LONDON Apple today announced the opening of Apple Music Hall, a brand-new state-...

22/09/2026

Young creativity across the island of Ireland takes centre stage as sixth RT This is Art! competition launches

RT , Creative Ireland and Shared Island Initiative ask young artists to respon...

22/09/2026

NVIDIA Isaac ROS 5.0 Advances Agentic, Open Source Robotics Development

To build and deploy sophisticated robotics applications that can perceive, reason and act in dynamic environments, developers need new physical AI models and to...

21/09/2026

Manifold Taps Ryhaan Williams for North America COO Post

Manifold Technologies, developer of software-defined, FPGA-accelerated infrastructure for live production, has named Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer...

21/09/2026

SNS Wins IAMT Best Journal Article Award

Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has won Best Journal Article at the 2026 IAMT Impact Awards for What Video Editors Need When Everything Is Changing Around Them,...

21/09/2026

MLW Announces Streaming Deal with Tubi for Weekly FUSION Series

Major League Wrestling (MLW) has announced a streaming distribution agreement with Tubi for its weekly series MLW FUSION. Beginning September 17, new episodes w...

21/09/2026

Adam Smith Named Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer at Disney Entertainment

Disney Entertainment has announced that Adam Smith has been named Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, with responsibility for Disney and Hulu including product, engi...

21/09/2026

United Airlines and DISH to Offer Live Football on Starlink-Enabled Seatback Screens

United Airlines and DISH have announced an agreement to bring live professional ...

21/09/2026

SES to Provide Satellite Distribution for JioStar Channels Across India

SES and JioStar have announced a multi-year agreement under which SES will provide satellite distribution services for JioStar's television channel portfoli...

21/09/2026

Detroit Red Wings Announce Detroit SportsNet Broadcast Details for 2026-27 Season

The Detroit Red Wings have announced details for their inaugural season on Detro...

21/09/2026

Manifold Technologies Appoints Ryhaan Williams as CCO for North America

Manifold Technologies has appointed Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer for North America, effective October 1, 2026. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Wi...

21/09/2026

DAZN Pick Up L.A. Kings DTC Streaming Rights; ABTV Will Continue as Local TV Home

Angels Broadcast Television (ABTV), the local television home of the Los Angeles...