RTE viewers were less than impressed with the Dancing With The Stars judges on Sunday after their score of Grainne Seoige despite her injury.
Grainne and partner John Nolan performed a rumba to the Bond classic, Shirley Bassey’s Diamonds Are Forever.
But the TV star, who runs her own jewellery company Grace Diamonds, revealed she was lucky to even make it to the dancefloor, after suffering a quad injury in rehearsal.
She said: “I couldn’t actually walk yesterday, so to get out and do what I did, I am super proud,.
But the judges said the injury was evident throughout the performance, and criticised her hip action. Loraine added: “The perfect song for you, but what is it all about. It is about the cut, the clarity, the colour and the carrot.
“My question is is the injury stopping you from the hip earthy action.”
The pair scored 13, to the dismay of many viewers.
Ciaran Mooney tweeted: "Judges way too negative with her. I thought she did such a good job."
Grainne's sister Sile even said: "I thought it was brilliant and couldn't understand the judges scores tonight."
Another fan said: "I thought the judges were very hard on Grainne given your injury. That was so beautiful, best of luck."
But despite the low score, Grainne survived and Neil Delamere admitted he was “shocked” as he was booted out.
The comedian and his partner Kylee Vincent were the second couple to leave the RTE show, after their cha cha cha to the Ghostbusters’ theme tune failed to win over viewers.
Speaking after the results were announced, Neil, who scored 18 points from judges on the night, said: “Yeah, I suppose we were shocked, yeah. But that is the show I suppose.
“I know people in previous years who I thought would have stayed in longer were booted out fairly early so it is always a possibility.”
But the pair said they will continue to root for Kylee’s husband Stephen Vincent, who is still in the competition with Ellen Keane as the weeks go on.
Kylee said: “Stephen and I always cheer each other on. We have what we call the Vincent’s family where we all support each other in our little group with Ellen and Neil.
“So we will be supporting them all the way.”
Commenting on their performance on the night, judge Arthur Gourlinian said: “That was so much fun. With the cha-cha, you have to let the inner campness out. I loved it.”
But Brian Redmond felt he tried “a little bit too hard” and advised him to “calm down a little bit”.
Neil joked with host Nicky Byrne, saying: “I thought my inner campness was left all over the floor there.
“You’re going to have to clean up my inner campness.”
Jennifer Zamparelli was back on co-hosting duties alongside Nicky Byrne, after missing out on last week’s show, where she was replaced by Lottie Ryan after testing positive for Covid.
The hosting duo were joined by judges Loraine Barry, Brian, and Arthur, who were on hand to score each performance throughout the evening as the 11 celebrities took on Movie Week.
First to perform was Love Island star Matthew MacNabb and his professional partner Laura Nolan, who danced a foxtrot to You Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story.
Loraine said: “I’m impressed. You listened, and you let the body go. You rolled through the feet, did very good footwork, the posture was very good. Brian also liked the performance, saying: “Tonight you were dressed as Woody but you finally had a bit of fluidity.”
They scored a total of 17.
After topping the leaderboard in her first few weeks, jockey Nina Carberry and her professional partner Pasquale De La Rocca dropped down the ranks last night, as they took on the tango to U2’s Elevation from Tomb Raider.
Brian said the performance was “not your best night but still pretty good,” and Loraine added, ‘for me it was just a little bit empty’.
But Arthur was full of praise as he said: “Nina, they say good things come in threes. You have delivered quickstep, rhumba and now the tango. Is there anything you can’t do?”
Nina and Pasquale earned a total of 19 points from the judges, their lowest of the season.
The Little Mermaid’s Under The Sea was the music of choice for champion athlete Ellen Keane and Stephen Vincent’s samba.
Brian said: “Well, this little mermaid certainly made a samba splash this evening.”
Ellen and Stephen scored a total of 22 points.
Aslan star Billy McGuinness returned to the floor with his partner Hannah Kelly for their paso doble to Journey’s Any Way You Want It from Rock Of Ages.
But the performance failed to impress Loraine, who said it was lacking dance moves.
She said: “You hit every beat and made every step, but you aren’t dancing. We need more characterisation, get into the body work, dance.”
The judges awarded them a total of 14 points.
Next up was rugby player Jordan Conroy and partner Salome Chachua who took viewers to Madagascar with their cha-cha-chat to I Like To Move It. Arthur told Jordan he reminded him of himself, saying: “You are a big ball of energy every single week, and I love that about you. You give 100% to the dance, so thank you.”
The judges awarded the couple a total of 20 points.
Contemporary ballroom was the dance of choice for model Missy Keating and partner Ervinas Melfeldas, dancing to Running With The Wolves from hit Irish film, Wolfwalkers.
Lorraine credited the social media star for a “mystical, magical and dramatic” performance. Missy and Ervanis, who are the youngest couple in the series, scored a total of 24 points.
Newsreader Aengus Mac Grianna embraced the spirit of Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy, dancing a lively samba with partner Emily Barker to Tom Jones’ Help Yourself.
Brian joked: “Now after that, getting caught doing your makeup on TV, this is only the second most embarrassing thing
“We’ve had a great streak..it has probably ended with that. The judges awarded them a total of 11 points, the lowest score of the night. But host Nicky said he was his winner of the night.
Finally, it was the turn of Nicolas Roche and partner Karen Byrne, who performed an American smooth to Singin’ In the Rain.
Impressed Loraine told them: “Well, they say style lasts forever, and I think this performance will stay with you forever.”
Professional partner and former champion Karen gushed afterwards: “I feel like a proud mammy,” as the judges awarded them a total of 19 points.
The final act to take to the stage on the night were Erica Cody and partner Denys Samson, with their lively Charleston to When We’re Human from The Princess and the Frog, a film Erica said was her favourite since she was a child.
Loraine said: “It was really good. This is what you call show business.”
Arthur gushed that the performance was ”stunning,” before handing out the first 10 of the series.
He added: “Erica, this was so beautifully presented and not only for you, for every single girl and boy who will be inspired by you after that performance.”
The pair scored 28 points, taking the top score of the night for the second time this series.
The night ended with a guest performance of Cinderella from The Irish National Youth Ballet.
