Drag queen Panti Bliss has said she wouldn’t sign up to do Dancing With The Stars if she didn’t get to dance with a man – but insisted she won’t be falling for her dance partner.
Panti – aka Rory O’Neill – is among the 11 hopefuls taking part in this year’s Dancing With The Stars.
But the Dubliner revealed dancing in drag with pro dance partner Denys Samson was one of the main factors she would take part in the RTE One show this year.
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Panti told us: “They had asked me a few times before. And for various reasons, I am a very busy pretend woman, so I couldn’t do it. This year a few things aligned and I said to them ‘Are you saying I can have a same-sex partner?’ because that was a big part of me deciding to do it."Panti admitted Denys would be the only one who could handle her.
“Nobody could be more unbothered by it than Denys. If you lined up all the pro dancers, Denys is the one I would pick. None of the rest of them would be able to handle me, let's be honest. He is a big eejit and he loves it.”
But Panti joked that at least she won’t be subject to the show’s Strictly curse rumours.
“No matter how you put it there is always a slight weirdness when it is a straight man and a straight girl. Maybe there is a partner at home who is not 100 percent thrilled about it.
“Or you have to go into studio and spend hours and hours wrapped around each other. That makes it hard. "With us, Denys is a straight bloke and I am a gay man twice his age. We are having more fun than the others for lots of reasons. We are howling laughing every day, in between all the hours of training.”
But Panti gave her reason as to why she decided to dance in drag instead of dance as Rory - but does plan on dancing without being in drag if she stays long enough in the competition.
"Panti is a performer more than Rory is and this is how I feel comfortable performing. "Obviously this is an extra hassle and I spend hours doing my hair and make-up. And there is padding and corsetry.
"I had insoles from shoes under my corset on Sunday night because I was in it for 10 hours. It started to blister. Panti is just more fun than Rory in general.
“I am planning to do at least one dance. I want there to be two boys dancing together in people’s living rooms at 6.30pm. That is important to me. We have already decided what we are going to do and when it will be.”
Panti also opened up about the length of time it takes to get ready compared to the other contestants on the show.
“I am doing my own make-up. Drag make-up is a specialised form of make-up and most beauty artists would struggle with it. Also, I know my own face.
"In regular life I do my own wigs, but that is another huge thing to worry about and there is enough going on with training. A guy called Neil is taking care of them for me. In general, it takes two and a half hours to get ready but I will take three if I have them so I can relax into it.
“Normally I have to go to set hours before anyone else, but there are so many girls on the show here and they all need hair and makeup. The team can only do so many of them at a time.”
Panti’s Ukrainian pro dancer Denys said he feels this year is going to be “special” for him as he continues to worry for his family back home.
“I feel it this season and something is different. When I got the news I knew it was going to be a challenge and it was going to be new. I have zero regrets and I am super happy and super proud. I am looking forward to this amazing journey.
“It is going to be very special for me, for Panti and for everyone at home.
“The orchestra week last year when the war started and it was very emotional. My mam and my aunt are still in Odessa and it is very dangerous to leave there.
"There are a minimum of 10 rockets in the city every day and 100’s more around the country. The sirens go off and they need to run to the bomb shelter. “The sounds go off at all times of the day and they can last for one hour or six hours.
“I finished on season five and I spent seven months on a ship at sea. I couldn't go back to Ukraine.
“My mam told me not to come back to Ukraine. I was thinking about her and my auntie, I am the only man who can take care of them. If I came back, got a gun, took two steps and died, who would look after them? Nobody. So what would it be for? Here, I can teach the cha-cha-cha, have fun and keep my family happy and calm. They have enough going on,” he added.
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