Holly says DWTS is bringing her back to her pageant days

Holly Carpenter is a woman who wears many hats. She was Miss Ireland 2011, a Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model finalist, an absolutely gas social media star, and now a Dancing with the Stars contestant.

The model shot to fame with her What she's really saying on Snapchat article which was shared around by Holywood stars like Ashton Kutcher, Kris Jenner and Jamie Foxx.

Since then she has launched a lifestyle brand called Love Lift consisting of jewellery, bathrobes, handbags, cosmetic bags and more.

Speaking on her busy schedule, Holly told RTÉ LifeStyle that she could only imagine how she would cope if she had to go home to mind children after a long day of rehearsals like some of her competitors.

"It's taking a lot of adjusting because obviously, for the first few weeks, I couldn't tell anybody what I was doing until it was announced so when I had to cancel Love Lifts events, people were questioning it and I felt terrible. Now that people know that I'm doing the show, people have been really helpful."

She continued: "I'm here ten until seven most days so I can't image what it's like for the likes of Mairead [Ronan] who has kids. I don't have a husband and children and mouths to feed, I just have to worry about myself."

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If you follow Holly on Instagram, you know that she is no stranger to the gym. And although she believes that her hours of squats have paid off in some respects, she insists that nothing could prepare her for the pain of daily rehearsals.

"I suppose having a basic fitness level has helped but I go to the gym because I want to stay fit and I want to stay looking good, I'm not one of those gym bunnies. I just have to go because I'm 27 now and can't eat what I want like I used to be able to when I was 20," she laughed. "I am actually more flexible than I thought I was. Doing weights and doing squats mean my legs are really strong which my dance partner is happy about."

The model's pro-dancer partner may be happy with her physical strength, but are they happy with her dance moves?

"I forgot how technical it is when you're dancing at this level with a professional dancer. I'm able to move my hips and wave my hands around and everything but they keep stopping me for my footwork, I keep messing up," she explained.

As a social media star we imagine it will be difficult to stay in during the festive season but, according to Holly, she's delighted to skip some of the Christmas merriment this year.

"I'm actually happy because most of the time I go into January feeling awful. This year, I'll be exercising loads and eating well so I can come into January ready for the show. I'm always going into January broke, put on half a stone, feeling so unhealthy so this will definitely be a really different Christmas," she explained.

While she juggles new dance steps and a busy routine, one thing that Holly is no stranger to is glitz and glam. As a Miss Ireland winner and Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model finalist, this Dublin lady is well able for costume changes, fake tan sessions and time spent in the make-up chair.

"I love it. The costume department here is just insane. It's kind of bringing me back to my pageant days with all the big hair and massive heels and tan and glitter - everything is glittery. For a few years after modelling and after Miss World, I was a bit turned off all that but now that I'm going back to it, it's really fun again."

Holly says DWTS is bringing her back to her pageant days

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