Eileen Dunne has reflected on her "all consuming" journey on Dancing with the Stars, saying it was "a steep learning curve" but that she is proud of how far she came in the competition.
The former RTÉ newsreader and her pro partner Robert Rowiński were eliminated on Sunday night's show after facing the first dance-off of the season with fellow competitors Rosanna Davison and Stephen Vincent.
Speaking to Jennifer Zamparelli on 2fm on Monday, Dunne said of becoming the fourth celebrity to depart the competition: "I'm disappointed of course, but I've had a great run.
"I was hoping to get to Orchestra Week (on 25 February) but these things happen. We've enjoyed every minute of it and I think I did myself and others proud, I'm happy with that."
Dunne and Rowiński became the fourth couple to be eliminated from the show after their Paso Doble to Viva Torero, which earned them a healthy 19 points and warm feedback from the judges, with Arthur Gourounlian saying of Dunne: "You mesmerised me."
However, the decent mark wasn't enough to save Dunne when the viewer and judges' scores were combined following the dance-off. The former broadcaster said she "didn't mind being bottom of the leaderboard" due to the high calibre of dancers this season and said she didn't "think I'd get that far" in the competition.
Admitting that "it's been all-consuming", Dunne said she still felt "in the bubble" of the show. Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment as part of a press call following her elimination, she said she would like to keep up the dancing.
"I'll probably go and take social dancing classes and get my skills up to speed a bit more," Dunne shared.
"It's such a lovely form of expression, I've always loved dancing, I've always loved disco dancing, bopping. I never danced formally before, but I do really enjoy it."
She also hopes to keep in touch with the friends she has made on the show, including her pro partner Rowiński.
"Even though there's a considerable age difference, I could be his mother for god's sake, we would agree on a lot of things, just as you're having conversations in the rehearsals room, it was amazing actually," she said warmly.
"I do believe we will be good friends going forward as we have a lot in common."
Meanwhile, Rowiński said of his celebrity dance partner: "I'm very proud, that was a really nice experience for me - something new. I discovered a different side of the dancing.
"Eileen brought some sun and rainbow to our rehearsals. We had a great time. She's really hard-working, I think this was a big success for us to come so far."
In terms of who is most likely to lift the glitterball trophy, Dunne said: "Any one of them could win it".
However, she singled out retired jockey Davy Russell as one to watch.
"In terms of the journey and someone coming up through the ranks and embracing the process, I would love to see him win", she said.
When asked about what her plans for the future are, Dunne was tight-lipped.
"Who knows? If you asked me this time last year if I was doing Dancing with the Stars I would have said, are you mad!", she laughed.
"I've always said I'll never work full-time again, I've been there, done that for 42 years. I want to leave myself open to opportunities like this one.
"I've a few bits and pieces coming up in March and April, but beyond that, I have no plans. Whatever happens, happens.
"When I retired Mary Kennedy said to me, the phone won't stop ringing for six months, and she was right, but the phone hasn't stopped ringing for a year. So I hope it continues to ring!"
Dancing with the Stars continues on Sunday at 6.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
