It's semi-final week on this Sunday’s Dancing With The Stars and firm favourite to take the glitter ball trophy Nina Carberry says she’s trying to keep a cool head as the pressure mounts.
The 37-year-old Irish Grand National winner is one of the five remaining celebrity hoofers and has scored a perfect 30 points two weeks in a row with her pro dance partner Pasquale La Rocca.
This week, they do a whirl on the dancefloor with a paso doble and speaking about the big night, Nina says, "I try to take it as it comes to be honest and try not to get too carried away because every week is different, so you don’t know how you’re going to take to your dance. I’m just going to try and take it as it comes and try and do my best."
Pasquale won the last series and that does put a bit more pressure on the couple. "There was a little bit of pressure from the start because he won the last series," Nina says. "It’s so nice to have gotten this far so we’re going to do the best we can and try to make it through to the final."
Asked if she was missing her husband and their daughters because all her time is taken up for DWTS, the Meath woman said, "Yes, I am missing them and it’s tough on them as well because the show started for me last December, but I’ve said to them when it’s over we’ll go to a hotel with a swimming pool so they’re holding on to that."
Having struggled with a knee injury last week, Nina said, "It’s not bad. I had an easy week with rehearsals this week but this week we have the marathon, and the knee pain hasn’t gone away so hopefully the marathon won’t put it under pressure. Hopefully it will hold up for the weekend.
"It should be fine as it’s not really affecting me at the minute. It was the jive that took its toll on me."
Topping the leader board and impressing the audience and judges has made her firm favourite to take the glitter ball trophy but is it hard to keep a cool sportswoman head with all that pressure.
"Obviously it would be absolutely unbelievable to get to the final to the final, but I try not to think too far ahead. It’s like being a jockey, you take it race by race and you’re only as good as your last race."
Dancing with the Stars continues on RTÉ One on Sunday at 6.30pm
