Dancing with the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian has told RTÉ Entertainment that he thinks there could be a "shock elimination" from the show tonight as the first couple from the new series leaves the dancefloor.
As with every season of the RTÉ One hit, no one wants to be the first couple to go - and Gourounlian thinks the gutted pair may not be who the viewers at home are expecting when the results of the public vote are revealed.
"I'm actually panicking because people are saying, 'Oh, we know who's going to go'. I was like, 'No, I don't know who's going to go - because it could be a shock elimination!'" he said.
"I've been walking around [and] people are like, 'Oh, I love this person, I love this person'. And they said a couple of people and I'm like, 'Oh... interesting!' So obviously it could be a big shock elimination."
Now, in his fourth season as a judge, Gourounlian is relieved that he won't be voting to save one couple and send another home until the dance-offs later in the series - something he says still makes him feel "sick in my stomach".
"It's never easy," he continued. "I never danced in [the] competition, but when you're working that hard every day...
"First of all, nobody wants to go in week one [of eliminations] because they feel like it's an embarrassment and a fail - but it's not. Thank God I'm not sending anybody home this Sunday; it (elimination by the judges in the dance-off) is starting a little bit later on. It is always sad.
"I remember Brian (Dowling, husband and a DWTS contestant in 2020) doing the show. He was upset that he left. I was like, 'Do you know what? Pick yourself up. Life carries on. You did seven weeks. What's next?!'"
As to the accusation that he has become a tougher judge in the new series, Gourounlian said he sometimes likes "to push the boundaries".
"I'm still the nice Arthur!" he laughed.
Dancing with the Stars, Sundays, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, 6:30pm
