Dancing With the Stars hopeful Jordan Dargan has said he is "gutted" after he and his dance partner Rebecca Scott were eliminated after a tense dance-off on Sunday night's semi-final.
The Dublin entrepreneur, who finished third on BBC's The Apprentice last year, became the eighth contestant to leave the show after an intense 'Dancing through the Decades’ themed show, which saw him being sent home after Tolü Makay and her dance partner Maciej Zięba were sent through to the final by the judges.
Makay now joins Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo Lini, Paudie Moloney and Laura Nolan, and Eric Roberts and Arianna Favaro on next Sunday’s grand finale.
Speaking after last night’s semi-final, Dargan said, "I grew a lot over the past ten weeks and I wasn’t going to say, 'oh, I'm delighted I got this far’ . . . I am genuinely gutted.
"I am not ashamed to say I put my all into this and I am not ashamed to say I am upset about it but I learnt a lot.
"I gave everything, staying up late, practising . . . I think when you put your all into it, you’re going to feel your emotions a little bit more when it doesn’t go your way. I left everything I had out there."
However, Dargan was full of well wishes for the remaining contestants.
"I’ve said this from the beginning but there has never been any animosity," he said. "There has been healthy rivalry but whoever makes it to that final, whoever beats me, whoever wins, I’ll be genuinely delighted for them because we’ve created such strong bonds in the group.
"I’m upset for myself but also overjoyed for Tolü. She was in tears herself, which goes to show how emotional it all is. But one of us had to go."
"I can go away proud and knowing that I kept true to who I am. Rebecca made sure of that - she said ‘go out there and if it’s not perfect, cool’."
Dargan is the founder of Rendify Studios, a 3D animation company, and was the first Irish-Nigerian contestant to appear on The Apprentice UK.
After making it to the final three on that show and making it to the semi-final of DWTS, he joked about what TV show he has his eye on next.
"As these opportunities have come along, I’ve taken them as they come. If you asked me 365 days ago if I’d be on Dancing With the Stars and make it to the semi-final, I would have said absolutely not.
"You never know what tomorrow holds but whatever opportunity comes my way I’m just going to take them."
He added that the exposure he has enjoyed on DWTS may help his business career.
"People invest in people. They don’t necessarily invest in the thing you’re selling. This show was a chance - in comparison to The Apprentice - to show the real me - the stripped down, vulnerable version that second guesses himself, who doesn’t always know what he’s doing.
"That’s a side of me that I was shielding on The Apprentice and in life but you can’t do that on a show like Dancing With the Stars . . . you can’t hide.
"This show has shown a different side to me which I hope people like."
The final of Dancing with the Stars airs this Sunday on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player at 6.30pm
