Taekwondo titan Jack is ready to try his hand at the tango!
Irish Olympian Jack Woolley has been revealed as the fourth celebrity to join the cast of Dancing with the Stars, which returns to RT One and RT Player next month.
Jack is the first ever athlete to have represented Ireland in taekwondo at the Olympic Games. He made his debut with Team Ireland at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and most recently, he competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics earlier this year. Alongside his Olympic achievements, Jack was awarded silver medals at the European Championships in 2022 and the European Games in 2023, along with bronze medals at the Taekwondo Grand Prix in 2018 and 2022.
Jack commented, I'm excited. This is something completely new for me. I think taekwondo is going to help because I'm flexible and I know my body, but remembering the steps is completely different. With taekwondo, I'm standing in front of somebody who's moving and I'm responding to what they're doing. I'm fighting them, and it's so unpredictable. But with this, you've got the set steps that you have to do in time. That's going to be completely new to me. Luckily, I have a nice start because I've got the athleticism, but I can't just take that for granted!
On what he feels most nervous about, he joked: I was most nervous about getting a spray tan, to be honest! I was afraid it was going be a bit splotchy and I'd look ridiculous. But the first one worked out well, so who knows? I might be a bit of a diva after this, getting a spray tan and my hair and makeup done every week after the show! I'm just embracing it at the moment.
In August 2021, just five days after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ended, Jack was hospitalised after being attacked in Dublin. He experienced an outpouring of support when he shared a post and some photos detailing the incident on social media and subsequently spoke openly about the attack on The Late Late Show. Jack has also given an incredibly honest account of the mental health challenges he has battled with while competing at a high level.
Jack is the fourth celebrity to be announced following yesterday's reveal of comedian Gear id Farrelly, Mrs. Brown's Boys actor Danny O'Carroll was announced on Tuesday and former Miss Universe Ireland, Aishah Akorede was revealed on Monday. The remaining celebrity contestants joining the new series of Dancing with the Stars will be announced throughout the rest of this week.
The glitz, glamour, and nail-biting competition will all unfold when the new season returns to RT One and RT Player next month.
Dancing with the Stars will be hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy again this season. The two-time Dancing with the Stars winner and professional dancer Karen Byrne will join the judging panel in 2025 alongside longstanding judges Loraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Arthur Gourounlian.
-ENDS-
Date: Wednesday December 11 2024
RT Communications: Rayna Connery and adaoin Nic Giolla Chomhaill
eadaoin.nicgiolla@rte.ie
Photography credit: Barry McCall
ABOUT DANCING WITH THE STARS 2025
Filling our Sunday evenings with glitz and glamour from January, the RT One series sees 11 well-known figures team up with a professional dancer to perform a live routine every week. Each pairing will have a different dancing genre to master every week, from the Charleston to hip hop, and they'll have just seven days to perfect their routine before performing live to the nation.
Each celebrity couple will be scored by an expert panel of four judges and the viewing public at home, with the winning couple claiming the much-coveted glitter ball trophy at the end of the series.
Dancing with the Stars is produced by ShinAwiL for RT .
Dancing with the Stars is proudly sponsored by Hyundai.
For all the latest news and backstage gossip on Dancing with the Stars, keep an eye on our social channels:
Instagram: @RTEOne & @DWTSIrl
TikTok: @RTEOne
Facebook: @RTEOne
Twitter: @RTEOne @DWTSIrl
#DWTSIrl
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
02/07/2026
Summer is heating up - and GeForce NOW is taking players along for the ride.
Start the month with Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains, bringing a galaxy fa...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
Taekwondo titan Jack is ready to try his hand at the tango!
