Grainne Seoige gracefully crashed out of Dancing on the Stars ‘on a high’ this week as she came up against top scorer Jordan Conroy in a shocking dance off.
Grainne and her partner John Nolan opened the show with an energetic Cha-Cha-Cha to Dancing in the Street by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas.
But they finished the night on a bum note as they were voted out by the judges in the dreaded dance off.
The Galway born star fought hard to keep her place in what judges described as her ‘best performance yet’ as she danced for the second time of the night.
But it wasn't enough for the pair, who had scored 19 points earlier in the night, as judges Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry and Arthur Gourounlian all voted to save rugby player Jordan and his pro partner Salome Chachua.
Speaking afterwards, Grainne said there were no feelings of disappointment and gushed: “I’ve had the best time I have had in years.
"I have made friends for life, I know it sounds cliche, but I have. It has been a wonderful experience. It is such a great thing to do for yourself. And I am so proud of it.”
“I really feel like I went out on a high. And I feel like I danced even better in the dance off and I did my best and that is all I can do.”
It was 'Big Band Night' on the RTE show, which saw the return of members of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra to the studio, providing sensational live music on set, with singing from Susan McFadden and Ashton Jones.
Gushing over the chance to perform to the live music, Grainne added: “It was an honour. It was incredible. It takes you to a whole different place.”
Rugby player Jordan Conroy and Salome kicked off the night with an uplifting contemporary ballroom to High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco, a performance that earned them a standing ovation from the judges.
Arthur told Jordan: "You 100% haven't given up yet, you are stronger than ever."
Brian added: "There's no high hopes here, because that was high achieving all the way, the lifts were excellent. Fantastic"
Loraine chimed in, saying: "Contemporary is all about creativity, but this is just off the charts tonight. Amazing, Salome, you do challenge him, but he rises every time to it."
Jordan and Salome got top marks, with a score of 30 - their first maximum score of the series.
Fans were in shock when the pair found themselves in the bottom two, with one writing: "Jordan & Salome in the dance-off?
"Ah come on lads
"I feel sorry for Grainne because she'd have had a chance against Billy."
Another said: "No f*cking waaaayyyy he was in the bottom 2....I'm saying it's rigged."
A third added: "Jordan and Salome were outstanding, maybe people thought they didn’t need a vote?"
Later on, Love Island star Matthew MacNabb and pro-partner Laura Nolan performed a Bond-inspired paso doble to Live and Let Die.
Brian said: "Really great characterisation all the way through, the body lines which are so important in paso were all there. Compared to what we have seen you do so far, that was a very good paso."
Matthew and Laura scored 22 from the judges.
Singer Erica-Cody and partner Denys Sampson were next on the dance floor, performing an American smooth to Ella Fitzgerald's Too Darn Hot.
After a mishap saw her lose her earring mid way through the routine, Loraine said: "We had a few little mishaps going on there, that happens, the good thing I always say is, you kept going. But I loved that, so Hollywood, so beautiful."
Arthur said: "Erica it must be hard for you this week because of last week's dance off, but you came back and told us what you are made of."
Erica and Deny's scored 25 from the judges.
Speaking after their performance, Erica told Nicky: "For those who don't know, Denys is from Ukraine so it has been extremely difficult for him this week."
Erica praised her partner for showing up to dance with her each day, despite his heartache, "I take my hat off to him, he's incredible."
A visibly emotional Denys, said: "Everybody knows what's going on in Ukraine, my family is there, my best friends.
“We will stay strong, Ukraine, we will not give up.
“I want to say a big thank you to Ireland, to Dublin, to Dancing with the Stars, the crew, producers, to everybody for the support this week. I'm so grateful."
The studio audience rose to their feet in support of Deny's as Nicky told him: "We send our love to you, to Ukraine and your family."
It was then the turn of jockey Nina Carberry and Pasquale La Rocca with a Charleston to Doop following their perfect score of 30 on last week's show.
Arthur said: "The way I like to describe you is Wonder Woman, with lots of identical sisters. You are so versatile, that was the best charleston of the season so far."
Brian said: "I think you missed your calling, to achieve what you are achieving in the space of a few months dancing, imagine how good you would have been if you started as a child? Excellent."
Loraine said: "There was so much in it, everything was there, it was the teamwork, I love to see that. We said at the beginning 'Nina is the dark horse', tonight you are the frontrunner."
Nina and Pasquale kept up their winning streak as they scored another perfect 30 from the judges.
Paralympic athlete Ellen Keane and pro-partner Stephen Vincent were up next, and performed a lively jive to Candyman.
Brian said: "Delivered all the way through - I thought it was excellent."
Loraine said: I saw a lot of jumping jive and that really takes a lot of energy. It was absolutely wonderful, you both blow me away, it's this relationship you have, the trust that you have. Ellen...you always deliver.
Arthur added: "You were happy, you were boppy, you were bendy tonight! You are so amazing with your balance, your kicks and tricks, your core is so strong, good job."
Ellen and Stephen scored 27 from the judges.
The final dancers to take to the floor this evening were Aslan's Billy McGuinness and Hannah Kelly, with a samba to Rock the Boat, featuring a memorable start with "team banana" aboard a banana boat.
Loraine said: "This is the samba Billy, the samba is about the bounce...but there is no technique here, it's Billy's technique. The lift was great, but there's no lifts allowed!"
Arthur added: "Team Banana you are rocking. Billy, you are living proof that dancing is happiness, dancing is joy."
Brian joked: "Iconic dance, iconic piece of music, he did rock the boat...and I felt seasick. You have become an iconic entertainer, there's no doubt about that. I'm going to rock the boat here because I think we might be seeing that in the Dance Off."
Billy and Hannah 18 scored from the judges.
Nicolas Roche and partner Karen Byrne were absent from the show due to Nicolas testing positive for Covid-19, but all being well, will return to the dancefloor next week.
