Dr Marie Cassidy has admitted she didn't think Dancing with the Stars "would be so hard" but insists she is "having a ball".
The former State Pathologist, who is Professor of Forensic Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and Trinity College Dublin, said preparation for the show has been full-on.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment ahead of Sunday, she said: "It's been very busy. I mean, it's been good fun.
"I'm not looking for a career on the West End," she laughed.
Dr Marie added: "It's been quite hard going actually. I didn't think it would be so hard."
Asked if she is feeling jitters about her dancing debut, she said "the nerves are starting to kick-in big style".
"I'm one of these people who just lives in the moment. I don't think too far ahead - I've learned that with my job.
"But the nerves are starting to kick-in big style. I think they are for all of us."
Dr Marie praised her professional dancing partner, Stephen Vincent, for being a "lovely, lovely man" and said "luckily he has a sense of humour".
The Glasgow-born author and documentary-maker, whose parents hailed from Co Donegal, has returned to her childhood hobby of ballet in recent years.
Dr Marie will take to the dancefloor alongside Kevin McGahern, Panti Bliss, Suzanne Jackson, Paul Brogan, Brooke Scullion, Shane Byrne, Damian McGinty, Stephanie Roche, Carl Mullan and Leah O' Rourke.
Dancing with the Stars, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, Sunday, 6:30pm.
