Dancing with the Stars presenters Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy have said they will miss "the glamour and the camaraderie" as the eighth season of the dancing competition comes to a close on Sunday evening.
It's been an eventful season of the RTÉ One show, marking the sixth year Zamparelli has hosted and the third with Garrihy at the helm, and they have settled into an easy banter and rhythm as co-hosts.
As the utterly brilliant final four contestants, Olympic gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, Mrs. Brown's Boys actor Danny O’Carroll, social media personality Kayleigh Trappe and Taekwondo athlete Jack Woolley, prepare to battle it out on the dancefloor to see who will lift the glitterball trophy, the two presenters reflected on what their life will look like once the show wraps.
Speaking ahead of tonight's final, Zamparelli, who stepped back from her mid-morning show on 2FM last May, said she planned to spend her "life savings on holidays".
"I'm blowing all my savings," she laughed. "I'm going away with the girls to Porto, I'm going away to Verona with my husband for my 45th, I'm taking my dad to Lanzarote, which is a bit of a family tradition now. Just getting away, really.
"I'm also training for the mini-marathon for Coolmine House, which is keeping me focused on my fitness. It’s always nice to have a bit of a challenge. And that's going to be a challenge for me because I find running unbelievably boring.
"It’s been a good run with Dancing with the Stars, it’s been very different for me having a bit of headspace and having a bit of time to do other stuff. It’s been weird, but it’s been good.
"But I think when the show is over it'll be nice to not have to wear makeup for a little bit and to not have to get the nails done religiously. And just kind of let myself go," she added jokingly.
Garrihy, who also stepped away from her 2FM Breakfast show last year, said life post DWTS looks a little different to her since she took up her new 2FM drivetime slot a few weeks ago.
"Usually I would try to go away straight away afterwards", she said.
"The last two years I've had breakfast radio, which has been a lot tougher.
"For the most part, the focus is to bed in with the drivetime show. It just hasn't been as exhausting because there's no breakfast, you know, up at 5am on a Monday."
The presenter and podcast host said she's "having a ball" being back on 2FM.
"I'm really loving being back on air, I missed it so much," she said. "Like with any new job it takes time to figure out what's working, what's not, feel my way through different things, not be afraid to try new things, get rid of things that maybe aren't working. I'm on my third week now, so it's still very fresh. But I'm loving it."
Garrihy said that although it was "hard" making the decision to leave, she went by her "gut feeling".
"It was hard, but it also wasn't because it was very much a gut feeling that it was the right thing to do at the time," she explained. "It really was the most amazing couple of years, but I've no regrets and I know that I made the right decision at the time for me.
"I mean it's worked out well. I got a lovely break and I did have a few months of relaxation, but also working on my other stuff like my podcasts and getting married and then coming back. And trying something new on radio and it's going well, I think."
They haven't had a chance to go for any post-work drinks together yet, with Zamparelli joking that after the show she's "tearing out of there, I'm down the M50 at about 8.35pm, I'm gone", but said they will give it their all at the wrap party.
"For me, it's a marathon, it's a very long run and I enjoy it more when I'm not wrecked and tired. I really enjoy getting home and decompressing," she said. "I don't know if it's old age or what it is, but I just want to get home and get my pajamas on and sit in silence."
"I wish we could say we're more rock'n'roll than that, but we're not, we're quite boring," Garrihy interjected.
"And see our dogs," Zamparelli added. "We will be fairly rock'n'roll, we tend to tear the arse out of it at the wrap party. So we make up for it then."
Garrihy wouldn't be pressed on who she thought might be victorious this season, saying she finds it "so hard to call".
"I had a conversation with [2FM host and previous DWTS winner] Carl Mullen the other day and we were like, we think Kayleigh Trappe is peaking at the right time, so it could be her year," Zamparelli said.
"Like Doireann said it’s so hard to call, it really depends on the day. I think when it gets to the final all bets are off, it’s a clean slate. What happens on the night will decide."
Despite their passion for the show, they were both emphatic when asked if they would consider being contestants.
"No! It’s such a massive, major commitment," Doireann said, before saying she had a "dodgy knee".
"There’s one thing standing on the floor reading words, there’s another thing standing on the floor and thinking of the music and the dancing and everybody looking at you and the potential to fall, it’s the scariest thing ever," Zamparelli said.
However they were unambiguous about whether or not they would return for another run next year.
"Of course, it's the greatest show on television!", Zamparelli enthused. "It's the greatest show to be part of. There's no other show like it where you have that element of showbiz, because in reality, television isn't glamorous.
"There's no show like it, so we would love for it to come back and I love to know, but these things are always very last minute, unfortunately. And we always just have to wait and see."
And what will they miss most about Dancing with the Stars?
"I always feel like after Dancing with Stars, no matter how hard I try to dress myself up, I look like a toe, so I will definitely miss the hair and makeup every weekend," Doireann laughed.
"What will I not miss? I suppose it's just, as Jen said, it's a long run, you know, and it is nice to get your weekends back. It really is. The first free weekend you have is always lovely to just get a coffee and walk the dog. Do whatever we want today, go and look at furniture!
"Of course you miss the glamour and the camaraderie of it as well. It's such an amazing behind the scenes show as well as on screen. There's so much craic behind the scenes.
"The people that Jen and I work really closely with, we get on so well with whether it's hair and makeup or autocue or our producers, they're just absolutely brilliant. The buzz is so brilliant, so of course you miss that."
"I'll miss the people because we don't see them then for a long time," Zamparelli agreed. "The people, the craic, that’s what I’ll miss most of all."
The Dancing with the Stars finale airs on 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
