It will be murder on the dancefloor when Dancing with the Stars returns this Sunday with a dramatic twist set to send shockwaves through the ballroom. For the first time in the show's nine-year history, the first elimination will take place in Week Two rather than Week Three - meaning that one unlucky couple will become the earliest to ever leave the competition.
Everything is to play for as the couples battle it out to secure a place in next week's much-anticipated Movie Week special airing on Sunday January 18.
After finishing bottom of the leaderboard last week with his Cha-cha-cha, The Traitors Ireland star Paudie Moloney will be hoping to impress the judges. He and pro partner Laura Nolan will perform a Waltz, aptly dancing to The Godfather Waltz by Carlo Savina and Nino Rota - a fitting choice given Paudie's nickname, The Paud-father .
At the opposite end of the leaderboard was reigning Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins. She and partner Leonardo Lini will aim to maintain their momentum with a Jive to APT. by Ros and Bruno Mars. While Katelyn is well used to traditional Irish jiving - having performed it as her Rose of Tralee talent - how will she cope with the Latin version?
Ireland AM presenter Eric Roberts and partner Arianna Favarro will be hoping to repeat last week's strong performance with a Foxtrot to Justin Bieber's Daisies. Meanwhile, podcaster Amber Wilson will be determined to turn things around following her disappointing debut, dancing a Tango to Blondie's Call Me with partner Alex Vladimirov.
Fair City star Stephanie Kelly will be living out a childhood dream this week. As a self-confessed Britney Spears superfan, Stephanie says she is buzzing to dance a Cha-cha-cha to I'm a Slave 4 U with partner Ervinas Merfeldas.
After blowing the judges away with a hot Salsa last week, The Apprentice star Jordan Dargan will slow things down. He and partner Rebecca Scott will perform a Viennese Waltz to Kingfishr's Diamonds & Roses.
Both Nationwide presenter Anne Cassin and singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy scored an impressive 23 points last week and will be aiming to build on that success. Anne and partner Robert Rowi ski will dance the first Paso Doble of the season to David Garrett's The 5th, while Brian and partner James Cutler take on a Cha-cha-cha to Benson Boone's Mr. Electric Blue.
After opening last week's show with a Salsa, Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh returns with partner Stephen Vincent for a Quickstep to Bette Midler's Billy-A-Dick. Fellow musician Tol Makay will perform an American Smooth to Olivia Dean's Man I Need with partner Maciej Zi ba.
Having tackled ballroom routines last week, Olympic rower Philip Doyle and comedian Michael Fry will both switch things up with a Latin dance for Week Two. Philip and partner Daniela Roze will dance a Salsa to Pitbull's We Are One, while Michael and professional partner Kylee Vincent take on a Samba to Ed Sheeran's 2025 hit Sapphire.
The couple with the lowest combined total from judges' scores and public votes to date will be eliminated on Sunday January 11. Each celebrity couple will be scored by an expert panel of four judges: Oti Mabuse, Brian Redmond, Arthur Gourounlian and Karen Byrne, and as well as the viewing public at home, with the winning couple claiming the much-coveted glitterball trophy at the end of the series.
Dancing with the Stars is hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli and Laura Fox and airs Sundays at 6:30pm on RT One and RT Player until mid March.
The eliminated couple will be interviewed by Laura Fox on 2FM at 9:30am on Monday morning.
Follow all the action as it happens every Sunday night live with the RT Entertainment tracker:
Live: As it happens: Dancing with the Stars returns!
-ENDS-
Date: Wednesday January 7 2026
For further information:
Rayna Connery, RT Senior Communications Lead
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It will be murder on the dancefloor when Dancing with the Stars returns this Sunday with a dramatic twist set to send shockwaves through the ballroom. For the first time in the show's nine-year history, the first elimination will take place in Week Two rather than Week Three - meaning that one unlucky couple will become the earliest to ever leave the competition.
