Hughie Maughan became the first contestant to be eliminated from Dancing with the Stars on Sunday night, one week on from grabbing all the headlines with 'tangogate'.
With his make-up toned down, the former Big Brother housemate upped his game with a waltz on RTÉ One on Sunday - but his performance wasn't enough to keep him in the competition.
After being in the last three contestants alongside model Thalia Heffernan and Dr Eva Orsmond, Maughan was eventually eliminated, and the devastation was written all across his face.
He said: "I was literally just getting into it! I'm so sad to go home but glad to have the opportunity".
After giving a huge hug to his pro dancing partner Emily Barker, he added: "Thanks very much, we came out tonight and we did our best. I didn't want to let you down."
She repaid the thanks, saying with a tear in her eye: "He's been amazing. I'm so proud of him."
Hughie and Emily are the first couple out! What a show to go out on though, great performance. #DWTSIrl pic.twitter.com/XSvOjCGGBl
— DWTS Ireland (@DWTSIRL) January 22, 2017
Maughan got attention for all the right reasons with a stripped-down waltz, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to save him. He said he wanted to shock everybody by how well he can dance, rather than the colour of his face, and at least he got the chance to do that.
Maughan had a lot of elegance and grace on the dancefloor, even the notoriously hard-to-please judge Brian Redmond said he did "a pretty good job", which is high praise coming from him. Brian added that he was "genuinely surprised", while Lorraine Barry went so far as to say it was "dreamy". We agreed most with Julian Benson's verdict: "Hughie, you're a born showman". Alas, it wasn't enough to keep him in the competition, and between the judges' 17 points and the public vote, he was sent home.
The show is sure to be duller (no pun intended) without him. But, it must go on. Get the lowdown on all the dances below.
Katherine Lynch – "Bringing hips to Ireland"
How good does Katherine Lynch look! She kicked off proceedings this week with a Cha Cha. The comedian blew the judges away with her elegant, "Cinderella-like" waltz last week, but we think the Cha Cha was much more suited to her personality. She had plenty of confidence and personality and she took to the floor looking like a 20s screen siren in a flapper style dress and blonde wig. As Julian said, she was the "Madonna of the dancefloor, fun, flirty, very sexy, very sassy". Crucially, she looked at ease with the dance, and earned herself a decent score of 18.
Dayl Cronin - Fiery, intense and strong with the tango
The Hometown star had a bit of extra pressure this week as was top of the leaderboard after week one. He said he struggled to perfect the tango this week, but it looks like he had no cause for concern. He was a true pro once again with his tango to One Direction's Drag Me Down (love the tune choice, by the way). There were some incredible twirls and it was pulsating with emotion and chemistry. Two thumbs up from us but unfortunately the judges didn't quite get on board. Brian said it was "pretty good" while Lorraine said she thought it was more of a paso doble rather than a tango. They gave it a total of 19, and poor Dayl looked crestfallen. Do you think they were perhaps a tad harsh on him?
Aidan O'Mahony - As nifty on the dancefloor as on the pitch
Aidan is rapidly rising up the ranks as one of our favourites as the weeks go on. The footballer had piles of fun with his quick step this week, sporting a massive grin on his face as he twirled across the dancefloor. Although it took a while to get going, there were plenty of lovely moments to keep the audience interested. We have to agree with Lorraine though that he left us feeling a bit shortchanged, we would have liked to have seen some more moves from the Kerry man. As Julian said, he needs to "bring up the tempo and go for gold next week". He earned a decent total score of 16.
Dr Eva Orsmond - Put in the hard work as she pleaded with the public to save her
Dr Eva took to the dancefloor for her Fox Trot this week, the picture of elegance in a lavender gown. She was at the bottom after last week with her salsa, but this week the judges "fell in love". You could tell she poured her heart and soul into the dance, and it showed, as she paced around the dancefloor with confidence. Julian deemed her "Dr Eleganza" and we'd have to agree. She got a total score of 18.
Des Bishop - Did Club Tropicana justice with a highly entertaining dance
We are loving his style. That tropical print blazer is too good and he had the attitude to go with it. He really upped his game and was probably the most entertaining of the bunch. Des put his best Happy Face on, which he said was just hiding this nerves. It certainly fooled us. The judges had high praise, Julian gave him a glowing report, complimenting the choreography, while Brian said "that was perfect". The comedian has definitely gone up in our estimation this week, he got a total of 21 points.
Teresa Mannion - an inspiration to us all
Teresa really put in an inspirational performance this week with her tango to Stronger by Kelly Clarkson, which she hoped would be "inspirational for other women who have been on a cancer journey". The reporter is certainly grabbing this opportunity with both hands, and this dance had some powerful moments. She gave it her all, and particularly nailed the leg lifts and hip twists. Julian's verdict? "You went for it, you have a great will and a great passion". The 15 point total was a little low, we felt. We're already excited to see what Teresa brings to the table next week.
Thalia Heffernan - A star in the making
The gorgeous Thalia absolutely killed it this week. We think the model really lived up to her potential, she was oozing with confidence with a sassy but tender rumba. Although she was "so nervous", she had no reason to be as the judges loved her performance - Julian said he had "high hopes for that rumba and you didn't let me down. It was sensual, passionate, there was romance between the two of you, it was just lovely". Brian heaped on more praise saying her "leg action was to the standard of a professional dancer – technically excellent". Top notch! She got a total score of 21.
Denise McCormack - Pushed herself to the limit
Wow. Just wow. Red Rock's Denise pushed herself to the limit with her tango. She put her game face on and proved she's an incredibly adaptable dancer. The tango was theatrical and impressive, and the audience quite rightly gave her a standing ovation. Lorraine deemed it to be "first class" while Julian said "you were box office, Queen of the Tango." They got a generous, and well deserved, total score of 26, pushing her to the top of the leaderboard. She's now the one to beat!
Des Cahill - Our one to watch
Who knew he had it in him?! Des really put on a show this week with his Paso Doble. The choreography was absolutely gorgeous and the audience was fully on board, clapping along enthusiastically. We think everyone at home was rooting for him too, we know we were. Brian said "full compliments for the effort" while Julian praised him for being "so entertaining to watch". Well done Des, he got 18 points. What a star.
Aoibhin Garrihy - A charm offensive that had us hooked
The Fair City actress looked like she was enjoying every second of her quick step. She was so lightfooted and energetic, and her dance featured some of the nicest pieces of choreography from the night. As Julian said the "fusion between actress and dancer came alive", while Brian said it was "the best topline from any of the girls so far". Aoibhin is brimming with charm, she's definitely one to watch. She got a total of 22 points, and we predict a perfect 30 will be in her future!
A few points to note...
A lot of the entertainment factor will have left the building along with Hughie, and we didn't feel he was the weakest contestant on the dancefloor. Dr Eva and Teresa scored lower than him with the judges' vote, but they got the support from the public, which secured their places in next week's show. To up the tension, we'd love to see a dance-off in future weeks, instead of a straight-forward elimination, is that too much to ask?! It would also be lovely to hear a bit of live music between the end of the dances and the elimination. But we're nit-picking here, that was a solid 2-hours of entertainment (minus those ad breaks...) and we're already gearing up for next Sunday.
And finally, kudos to host Amanda Byram's ultra-talented stylist Clementine MacNeice. We'd tune in to see her gúna's alone. Nicky scrubs up well too!
Dancing with the Stars continues on Sunday January 29 at 6.30pm on RTÉ One.
