It may be quarter-final night on Sunday's Dancing with the Stars - but there's also a bit of rivalry between two former winners as Lottie Ryan and Jake Carter return to captain a side each in the Team Dance.
It’s a new twist in the competition’s tale that’s set to send the remaining celebrities into a spin!
The final six couples will compete in the show’s annual Team Dance, which will see them split into two teams of three couples - but this year's teams will be mentored and joined on the floor by a Champion Dance Captain in the form of Season 2 winner Jake Carter and Season 4 champ Lottie Ryan.
"We only found out about this last week," Lottie admitted when asked about her and Jake’s return to the show.
"It’s been a quick turnaround for the two of us in terms of squeezing in one or two rehearsals on top of, obviously, the celebrities and their pros who are incredibly busy with their solo dances.
"We’re tying to jump in on the back of that - but it’s been a brilliant week. I don’t know how enthused they are by the level of energy myself and Jake are bringing in to room, but they’re all absolutely knackered at this stage of the competition.
"The two of us are just so excited!"
The first team will be made up of Eurovision star Brooke Scullion and her partner Robert Rowiński, singer and Glee actor Damian McGinty and his partner Kylee Vincent, drag queen Panti Bliss and her partner Denys Samson.
They will be known as the HandClap Hustlers’ and will be joined by captain, Jake Carter and his partner Karen Byrne to dance to the song HandClap by Fitz and the Tantrums.
The second team will consist of 2fm presenter Carl Mullan and his partner Emily Barker, comedian Kevin McGahern and his partner Laura Nolan, TV presenter and influencer Suzanne Jackson and her partner Michael Danilczuk.
They’ll be called the Disco Dazzlers and will be captained by Lottie with Stephen Vincent. They will dance to Crying At the Discotheque by Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Everything will be to play for as each team will be scored as normal by the judges for the Team Dances with their team score added to their overall individual score.
Jake Carter isn’t shy about expressing his enthusiasm about his return to Dancing with the Stars. And the fact that he’s not competing for a place in the semi-finals means he can just enjoy himself.
"It’s great to be back without the pressure of actually having to dance - but we can feel the pressure from the other dancers, because obviously it’s going towards their scores," says the Scouse singer. "That’s given us a kind of kick up the hole to do a well as we can.
"But it’s just great to be back," he adds. "I never thought that I’d be getting a chance to be back dancing on the dance floor. So I’m just happy to be back. I’ll say there’ll be a bit of competition when it comes round to the team dance."
Before all of that, of course, the six couples will still dance individual dances as normal. Off the back of earning the first perfect score of the season, Brooke and Robert will dance Tango this week to Libertango by Escala.
Following their win in last week’s dreaded Dance Off, Panti and Denys will be hoping to avoid it for a second time as they dance American Smooth to the Bjork classic It’s Oh So Quiet.
Other routines on the night will include Carl and Emily dancing Charleston to Bills by LunchMoney Lewis, Damian and Kylee performing a Foxtrot to Don’t Let the Light Go Out by Panic! At the Disco, Kevin and Laura performing a Salsa to the Calvin Harris hit, Stay with Me, while Suzanne and Michael do a Rumba to Lana Del Rey’s Young and Beautiful.
The two couples with the combined lowest points from the judges and public vote will face off in the Dance Off where the judges will ultimately decide who leaves the competition.
But the addition of Lottie Ryan and Jake Carter will add a certain element of surprise to this week’s episode of the hit show. And it does no harm that Lottie and Jake are both competitive by nature.
"I’m back, but I want to win - obviously," says Lottie as she puts it up to her rival team captain for the night. "And Jake, let’s us not lie, the minute we found out there were immediate messages between the two of us.
Jake nods in agreement, smiles and gets the boot in. "Sure look, there’s no real competition anyway," he insists. "I know I am the true champ!"
Lottie laughs and says: "Whatever! Whatever!"
It’s going to be some craic!
Dancing with the Stars, 6.30pm Sunday, RTÉ One
