HIT SERIES DANCING WITH THE STARS TO RETURN IN JANUARY 2022
– 12 new celebrities, one brand-new member of the judging panel & new pro-dancers to join the show
– Sunday evening entertainment favourite back on screens to thrill viewers for a 12-week run
RTÉ has today announced that following a one-year hiatus the hit Sunday night TV series Dancing with the Stars will return to screens in January 2022 with 12 new celebrity dancers hoping to make it all the way to the final.
The hugely popular Sunday evening entertainment series, which sees familiar faces from the world of entertainment team up with a professional dancer to perform a live routine each week, is produced by ShinAwiL for RTÉ, and is set to run from January to March, providing some much-welcome glamour and truckloads of sparkles to kick off Sunday evening viewing in the New Year.
Aspirational dancers from the showbiz world will be teamed with professional dancers and bid to impress the judges and viewers at home each week with their routines, in the hope of progressing to the final and getting their hands on the coveted Dancing with the Stars glitterball trophy.
Presenters Jennifer Zamparelli and Nicky Byrne will be back at the helm of the series in 2022. Judges Loraine Barry and Brian Redmond will also return to Dancing with the Stars, and in January will be joined by new judging panel member – dancer and acclaimed choreographer – Arthur Gourounlian (pictured below). All three judges will be ready to give their informed, upfront, and sometimes tough-talking reviews and scores from each of the live performances to the contestants.
Among the other changes for the upcoming series are that 12 brand-new celebrities will now take part in the show (previously there were 11), and the series will get straight down to business, with celebrities and their partners being voted off from week 2 of the 12-week run of shows.
Dancing with the Stars will also be available live on RTÉ Player each week, with each show available on-demand for the 2022 season.
Social reporter James Patrice is back for the new season with his access-all-areas backstage pass to bring fans all the latest news and updates from the training room and the dancefloor on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.
John McHugh, RTÉ Head of Entertainment, said: “RTÉ are delighted to announce that Dancing with the Stars is back and will once again be entertaining viewers across the country on Sunday evenings. There’s a truly stellar line-up in store for this series, and I think everyone will welcome the return of the glamour and entertainment that ShinAwiL and Dancing with the Stars have always delivered for audiences.”
Larry Bass, CEO ShinAwiL, said: “We are all thrilled in ShinAwiL to once again help bring the glitter back to brighten up our winter evenings in the new year on RTÉ One. It will be a challenge to manage a show of this scale while also policing the strict covid protocols we have identified with RTÉ, but it is a challenge the whole team are looking forward to taking on. Dancing with the Stars is such a great feel-good show, it is exactly what the country needs after two years of tough times.”
Further details about Dancing With the Stars 2022 will be announced in the coming weeks, including the line-up of celebrities taking part, and their professional partners. A number of new pro-dancers will be joining this year’s show also for the first time, including two new professional dancers from Ireland.