Brian Redmond: 'Davy Russell has surprised me the most'

Dancing with the Stars’ judge Brian Redmond has said that Davy Russell is the contestant who has surprised him the most this season.

Speaking ahead of this evening’s programme, Redmond said, "I believed [Davy] was always going to be popular with the public – Nina Carberry proved a few years ago that the horse racing public loves this show.

"[But] I thought he was going to be the one that come week seven or eight would have me banging my head on the desk going, "How in God's name is he still here?!’"

While hesitating to use the overused reality show term of "journey", Redmond nonetheless acknowledges that he is "genuinely improving".

"I think the ‘J’ word is very appropriate in his case because he’s so on the ball, even down to his buy-in," he said.

"He's totally invested in it. And then I think overall, based on what I would have expected, he's the one that's improved the most and maybe surprised me the most."

Redmond says he "cannot wait" to see show presenters Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy step up to the dancefloor this week as part of the team dances.

"I haven't seen them rehearse yet, and I didn't even know about it happening until Jen said to me last week, ‘Have you seen that video of that aerobics studio where there's one woman going one way, and everybody else is going the other?!’ She went on to explain that she was taking part this week!"

The new element of presenter participation in the team dance adds jeopardy to the proceedings, according to Redmond. "It's going to be challenging because for the first time ever, we've got the presenters of the show who could play a part in affecting positively or negatively the scores that the celebrities get."

Acknowledging this puts the pressure on, he mused, "You don’t want [one of the presenters] to say to an eliminated contestant, ‘I'm so sorry you went home’ and maybe the celebrity goes, ‘Well actually, it's your fault!’

"So it brings an extra sense of jeopardy to it and I'm really looking forward to it."

The dancer, who presents a daily talk radio show on Carlow and Kilkenny station KCLR, was also questioned about another notable presence on the show who may be changing their stripes this season.

While Redmond is known to be the most straight-talking - some might say brutally honest - of all the three judges, he says he doesn’t fear that fellow judge Arthur Gourounlian is encroaching on his tough persona in this year’s series.

"It's a heavy coat to wear at times, so if he wants to wear it, I’m more than happy!" he laughs.

"I think Arthur's obviously had a couple of weeks where he wasn't particularly fond of the performances of Jason Smith in particular, and I'm not quite sure how well he dealt with that big ‘boo’ that he got the first week he was a bit critical of Jason!"

"I don't think you're going to see any big change in the either my or Arthur’s persona anytime soon," he said, adding that the standard of this year’s contestants has been so high that "unfortunately, I haven't had as much to get my teeth into as maybe I would have other years!"

When quizzed on who his dream contestant for the show would be, he made a "plea" for 2fm presenter and former rugby player Donncha O’Callaghan to sign up.

"He's surrounded by people who are connected to the show. He does his ‘brutally honest review’ every Monday morning on 2fm where he gives his own take on things," he said.

"So I think it's time for him to - excuse the language – put up or shut up.

"He's gotta get on the show and do it - his family love it, his coworkers love it, and you know he's got all the ability in the world - but he hasn't tested himself yet. Time for a test, Donners!"

Redmond commented several weeks ago that this year’s series had five or six potential winners. How does he feel about this now, with the quarter-finals here?

"I think all of the five or six potential winners are still there - I know I didn't necessarily name them at the time - so you can work that out for yourself!"

"In terms of predicting where things go from here, it is very, very difficult," he said.

Crediting David Whelan and Blu Hydrangea as the strongest dancers, followed closely by Katja Mia and Laura Fox – Redmond still believes it’s anyone’s game.

"What Jason [Smyth] has done has been amazing... it's fabulous. And Davy Russell, as I said earlier, has really embraced it and has improved every week.

"So at this stage, I'd be happy for any of them to win, to be quite honest with you, for different reasons."

Dancing with the Stars, Sundays, 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.