Des Bishop has pledged to dance the Charleston with his Dancing With The Stars partner Guilia Dotta at next week's Paddy's Day Night at Dublin's 3Arena.
The show – the first ever Irish Comic Relief fundraiser – will feature 14 of Ireland's greatest funny folk, including the likes of Dara Ó Brian, Tommy Tiernan, Deirdre O'Kane, Bernard O'Shea and (the former) Dancing Des.
At a press call in Dublin's Merrion Square this morning, Bishop, O'Kane and O'Shea gathered to plug the event, which will raise much-needed funds for charities aiding people at home and abroad.
"It's going to be a great gig, a super line-up, a great venue," Des Bishop told RTÉ Entertainment. "I've never played the 3Arena."
Deirdre O'Kane, the event's organiser-in-chief noted, "The 3Arena have given us the venue for nothing, which is huge. We couldn't, obviously, make as much money without that.
"You will never get this line-up again. 14 on one bill, it's very rare and it certainly doesn't happen in an arena. So it's special. Very special."
Each of the 14 acts will have approximately 7-10 minutes to entertain the audience so it's going to be quite a night. Live Aid with Laughs, you could say. But will Des Bishop bring any of his Dancing With The Stars memories with him on stage?
"I do with my own show," he says. "Giulia's dancing with me in Vicar Street next week. She's not dancing with me in this thing."
But then Deirdre O'Kane interjects and makes Des an offer he can't refuse: "Unless you want to bring her..."
"I'll say it to her," he responds, before thinking out loud. "Maybe that's what I'll do: maybe we'll do that instead, for a warm-up. I'm changing my plans.
"I'm not going to do comedy, me and Giulia are going to do a Charleston we've been working on in our own time, and not on RTÉ's time, and we'll open the show with that in the 3Arena."
Looking pleased with his new resolution, he adds: "That was a decision that's just been made, and she'll be delighted to play to people on a decent stage."
As for his experience on Dancing With The Stars, the Irish-American comedian is full of positives, despite being voted off the RTÉ One show on February 12 after an impressive performance with his dance partner.
"It was a very fun six weeks of my life," he insists. "The majority of my life I have not been dancing so I'm coping with it alright.
"Listen, I absolutely loved it. I wasn't totally delighted to be voted off, but what are you going to do? It's good to leave in a blaze... In a blaze of everyone not being happy with you. So that was fine. That's that. That's that chapter done.
"I'm totally over it, but you're asking about it. I totally enjoyed but I'm not going to lie. I was disappointed."
