Dancing with the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian told Friday's Late Late Show that fellow judge Brian Redmond will have his work cut out as new head judge Oti Mabuse joins the panel for the 2026 series on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Double Strictly Come Dancing winner Mabuse is replacing Loraine Barry as head judge alongside returning judges Redmond, Gourounlian, and Karen Byrne - and Gourounlian cannot wait for the fireworks ahead.
Watch: Arthur Gourounlian's full Late Late Show interview
"You have another musketeer on the judging panel of Dancing with the Stars - Oti Mabuse," said Late Late host Patrick Kielty. "I'm thinking this is bad news for Brian. I'm kind of thinking yourself and Karen and Oti... that could be bad news."
"Do you know what happened when we were doing the shoot to announce Oti?" Gourounlian replied. "I said, 'Brian Redmond, God help you!' He said, 'Why?' I said, 'Not one, not two, but three loud, crazy, like, massive characters [are] going to be at (on) the panel! Nobody's going to hear you anymore!' And he went, 'Oh, my God...'"
"But it's true: he's such a teddy bear! I know he's the baddie - I call him The Baddie B - but he's such a teddy bear," Gourounlian smiled. "He's so tall. I absolutely adore the man, but I think the dynamic is going to be elevated. It's going to be incredible."
"Dancing is all about having fun, and the energy is going to be incredible," he continued. "Of course, we said goodbye to Loraine; I've been so privileged [to work with her].
"You know we were talking about dreams? Never in a million years, I dreamt (sic) I'm going to be sitting on a panel judging dancing. As a dancer, it's like a dream you can dream, but it's not achievable, especially for a foreigner. English is my fifth language. When I got the phone call after all the auditions and I got it, I sat there the night of January 2022 and my life in Ireland changed. Like, it's not possible. So now, I'm embracing every single minute of it.
"When I had dinner with Loraine and Brian in 2021, December - I'm very good with dates! - they were telling me what to do, what's happening, and everything. And do you know what I said? 'I'm not feeling any issues. I'm going to be Arthur Gourounlian. Either people [are] going to love me or hate me. I'm just going to embrace it and go for it.' And the rest is history."
Gourounlian has just published his first children's book, Little Arty and the Happy Dance!.
The celebrity dancers who will make up the Dancing with the Stars class of 2026, along with the pro partner pairings, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Dancing with the Stars, hosted by Laura Fox and Jennifer Zamparelli, returns to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player in January 2026, airing on Sunday nights.
The Late Late Show, Fridays, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, 9:35pm
