Leah O'Rourke has become the first celebrity to leave Dancing with the Stars following Sunday night's fun-filled evening on RTÉ One.
Leah O'Rourke and her professional partner John Nolan had danced the Cha Cha Cha, scoring just 11 points from the judges. Tonight was the third show of the season and the first of the eliminations, although votes from the first two shows were carried over to tonight.
Afterwards Leah said: "I'm feeling okay," she said. "With my limited dancing ability this was always a possibility for me. When I was offered to do this I was torn . . . but I came on, I gave it a shot, and I had the best time with John."
She looked at her dance partner and said: "Honestly John, you've been an icon, a legend. And I'm so grateful I got paired with you."
First up on the dance floor were Suzanne Jackson and Michael Danilczuk performing a Jive to Runaround Sue by The Fratellis.
Judge Loraine said: "Suzanne, I'm going to start off by saying you look absolutely stunning" before addressing the fact that Suzanne slipped-up during the performance.
"Look, this happens. It happens to all of us sitting here. And you did your very best to keep it going as much as you could. And the dress helped a lot as well. That's what happened, and let's carry on."
Suzanne admitted afterwards that she's "too much of a perfectionist" and needs to "stop and enjoy it more - and this is my lesson now."
The judges awarded them a total of 15 points.
Second out of the blocks were Kevin McGahern and Laura Nolan, who danced a Tango to I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats.
"The tango is sensual and passionate," said judge Arthur. "I didn't get that. It was missing something tonight."
Judge Brian wasn't impressed either and described their performance as "floppy".
Afterwards, Kevin said: "I have to keep my trousers on - I'm not sure how sensual I can make it without getting a divorce."
The judges awarded them a total of 17 points.
The third couple to dance were Paul Brogan and Salome Chachua, who performed a Waltz to Take It To The Limit by The Eagles.
Paul admitted afterwards that it was a "difficult dance" before judge Brian grinned at him and said: "Well, big butch Brogan showing his softer side with this slow waltz! But was it any good? Do you know what? It wasn't bad!
"What really surprised me was the footwork!"
Loraine added: "Paul, this was your best dance so far!"
The judges then awarded them a total of 20 points, putting them in the lead.
Next up were Marie Cassidy and Stephen Vincent, dancing a Mambo to Mama Wanna Mambo by Meghan Trainor.
Afterwards, judge Loraine told Marie: "You were the queen tonight of Salsa! The hips were going, the lips were in there - if anything, I wanted that skirt to ruffle a little bit more . . . you were fabulous."
"Salsa gives you confidence," said judge Arthur. "That dance had an effect on you . . . I absolutely love it. Beautiful."
Marie did admit afterwards: "I really enjoyed it, but as [judge] Brian said, I'm a bit rough around the edges."
The judges awarded them a total of 17 points.
Panti Bliss and Denys Samson were next up, dancing the Quickstep to Karma Chameleon by Culture Club.
"That was a divine quickstep," said judge Arthur. "It's a very difficult dance to do, but Mamma Mia! You were dancing for your survival."
Brian described the dance as "very very good" but added the caveat: "a nice quickstep, but maybe you could swing it a bit more."
Panti's post-dance reaction was "how wonderful we are together," referring to dance partner Denys Samson.
The judges awarded them 21 points, placing them at the top of the pile so far.
Carl Mullan and Emily Barker were next, dancing a Samba to Shake Your Bon-Bon by Ricky Martin.
"Carl Mullan, the last person that I saw who looked as fetching as you in those shades of green was Kermit the frog," said Judge Brian. "Listen, there's no doubt about it - you captured the fun of the samba, but you didn't get to grips with all the technicalities."
Loraine said: "I saw a tremendous effort . . . knuckle down, get a little bit more technique, you're on the right path."
Afterwards, Carl admitted: "I was trying to calm my inner Ricky Martin . . . we just wanted to go out there and have fun."
The judges awarded them a total of 20 points.
Next up were Damian McGinty and Kylee Vincent, dancing a Viennese waltz to All For You by Cian Ducrot.
"I personally love this song and you did it absolute justice tonight," said Judge Loraine. "This was a really beautiful, intimate story, beautifully displayed in Viennese with a lovely soft, swirling movement. and you did all that while maintaining a very improved top line and frame. It was really lovely and I'm very much in love with this tonight."
Arthur agreed, describing the performance as "stunning", adding that "You two gel together so well on a dance floor."
Even Brian loved it. "It was super!"
Afterwards, Damian admitted that the dance made him dizzy during rehearsals: "All week, " he said. "Whenever you hit the end of rehearsals, the dizziness really kicked in."
The dizziness continued when the judges awarded them a total of 25 to take over the lead.
Leah O'Rourke and John Nolan followed, with a Cha Cha Cha to Bongo Cha Cha Cha by Goodboys.
Afterwards, Leah admitted: "If you watched Derry Girls, you'd know I'm not musically talented, so moving my feet and banging the drums was a little difficult."
Judge Arthur opened the comments, saying:" Leah! I could see you were having the time of your life over there. It's joyful, it's fun - and then you have the steps. You were doing your best, but remember: if you're having a good time, I'm having a good time with you."
Brian paused before saying: "Every family in Ireland would love to have you at their party - just maybe not on the dance floor . . . you can bongo with the best of them, that's for sure . . ."
The judges then awarded a total of 11 points, leaving them in last place.
Brooke Scullion and new dance partner Maurizio Benenato were next up, dancing a Rumba to 2002 by Anne-Marie.
"It's all about the quality of performance," Judge Brian told them. "And the quality of that performance, Brooke Scullion I don't think you realise how good that was," adding that "If I'm telling you that the only thing you need to get better at is standing still, and we;'re only on week 3 - that's a pretty good sign."
Loraine said: "You had it all. It really was a scintillating rumba," while Arthur told Brooke she was "hot, hot, hot!"
Brooke admitted: "I was so nervous going out there . . . and Robert came in like a whirlwind."
The judges awarded them a total of 26 points, putting Brooke and Robert in the lead.
Stephanie Roche and Ervinas Merfeldas were the penultimate pairing to take to the floor, dancing a Charleston to Hustle by Pink.
They got a great reaction from the audience before Judge Loraine offered her assessment. "I said I saw an improvement last week, and my goodness! Look what you brought to us tonight!
"You give this girl a pair of trainers, and this is what she gives you. Absolutely fabulous!"
"You came back with a vengeance!" said Arthur, while Brian added: "There's a lesson in that . . . that's a mammoth change from the performer we've seen in other weeks."
Afterwards, Stephanie said she was "so much happier" than before. "Obviously when you get bad comments, it can be very hard to get yourself going the next Monday. But we were very, very goofy this week - and it paid off in the dance."
The judges awarded them a total of 23 points.
Last but not least, Shane Byrne and Karen Byrne danced the Paso Doble to Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf.
Judge Arthur certainly enjoyed it, saying: "Shane, you were born to be wild - like me! I love it! that was the strangest Paso noble I've ever seen."
Brian added: "You were definitely born to be wild, but I'm not sure if you were born to be a dancer."
Wrapping up, Loraine said: "Well Shane, I commend you . . . It's Movie Week next week, and I think you're going to bring something special to the table."
"It's totally different to what we had been doing," Shane said afterwards. "But listen, we really enjoyed it."
The judges awarded them a total of of 15 points.
Ultimately though, it was going to be up to the viewers. As the voting lines closed, Leah and John emerged as the unfortunate couple to be first to exit this year's Dancing with the Stars.
