Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh has been revealed as the first celebrity who will be taking part in the new series of Dancing with the Stars on RTÉ One in January.
Kavanagh is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with the ballad In Your Eyes in 1993.
The song became the best-selling single in Ireland that year and remains one of Eurovision's most iconic ballads. She returned to the contest in 2010 with It’s for You, qualifying for the final in Oslo.
On joining the cast of Dancing with the Stars, Kavanagh said: "I am beside myself but trying to act all cool – like it’s no bother! It would be a lie to say I'm not nervous, stepping into the unknown publicly brings its own nerves. However, what I mostly am is excited, I don’t have to be good at this but I’ll work hard to get as good as I can!"
Eager to take to the dance floor, Kavanagh admits that the behind-the-scenes prep is a bit daunting for her.
She explained: "The glitz and glam side of things is probably the most difficult part for me as I usually don’t think too much about sequins and certainly not fake tan – I haven’t even had my ears pierced! I have very little experience in formal choreography. When I did school shows I was mainly cast as a singer and mostly I was told to stay out of the way of other people until it was time for me to sing."
Kavanagh is looking forward to stepping out of her comfort zone and says she's a big fan of dancing reality shows.
"I love watching Strictly and Dancing with the Stars," she said. "I watch them every year. I have opinions on all of the dance moves ... that I can’t do myself. I’ve watched people grow while they do the whole process, so I’m excited from that point of view, but for years I felt it wasn’t for me because it involves so much of what I’m not good at."
The singer said she's looking forward to working with the entire DWTS team - including the expert panel of four judges: Oti Mabuse, Brian Redmond, Arthur Gourounlian and Karen Byrne - and is "very excited" to see how the other celebrities perform.
"I’m not going to lie, I probably will fan-girl a little bit over Oti and I already love Brian, Karen and Arthur. Truthfully, I can’t wait to work with the whole team and I’m very excited to see how the other celebs do," she added. "I want to see them do well so I’m just going to point myself at it and have the whole experience – sparkles, spray tan and all!"
Dancing with the Stars is hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli and Laura Fox, who is standing in for Doireann Garrihy this season while she is on leave.
The RTÉ series will see 12 well-known figures team up with a professional dancer to perform a live routine every week.
Each pairing will have a different dancing genre to master every week, from the Charleston to Salsa, and they'll have just seven days to perfect their routine before performing live to the nation.
Each celebrity couple will be scored by the judges as well as the viewing public at home, with the winning couple claiming the much-coveted glitter ball trophy at the end of the series.
Tune in for all the glitz and glam from Sunday, 4 January 2026, on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
