DUBLIN – Amber Wilson, appearing with professional dance partner Alex Vladimirov, became the third couple eliminated from RTÉ One’s Dancing with the Stars during the episode broadcast Sunday, January 25, 2026.
Wilson’s exit followed an American Smooth performed to The Giver by Chappell Roan, which earned the pair 19 points from the judges.
In a brief on-air statement after the result, Wilson acknowledged the end of her run and highlighted her partnership with Vladimirov.
“It’s disappointing, I would have loved to have kept going. Alex has been amazing.”
The elimination narrows the field as the Irish edition of the long-running ballroom competition continues its weekly live-cycle on RTÉ One and on-demand, operating within the public service broadcaster’s remit under the Broadcasting Act 2009 to provide original Irish entertainment programming alongside news and current affairs. In a schedule where premium weekend entertainment hours are expensive to mount and difficult to sustain without established formats, a franchise such as Dancing with the Stars offers commissioners a repeatable, music-led structure that can be packaged across broadcast, catch-up and social platforms.
Scores and song choices set the competitive table
Sunday’s episode, designated “Country Week” in the ongoing ninth series, also clarified where the remaining celebrity contestants stand based on judges’ scoring alone, with a spread that ranged from 16 to 34 points across the night.
The programme’s lineup reflected a deliberately broad mix of recognisable Irish television faces, competition-format alumni, and music talent-an approach commonly used in celebrity performance series to balance audience segments and maintain week-to-week reach across demographics, while helping RTÉ defend audience share in an increasingly fragmented streaming market.
Below is a scorecard of the routines performed during the January 25 broadcast:
| Contestant | Professional partner | Dance | Music | Judges’ points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Roberts (Ireland AM presenter) | Arianna Favaro | Viennese Waltz | Chris Stapleton’s version of Tennessee Whiskey | 31 |
| Niamh Kavanagh (Eurovision winner) | Stephen Vincent | Cha-cha-cha | Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much | 16 |
| Jordan Dargan (The Apprentice UK star) | Rebecca Scott | Paso Doble | Jelly Roll’s Dead End Road | 34 |
| Paudie Moloney (The Traitors Ireland star) | Laura Nolan | Quickstep | Declan Nerney’s Stop the World and Let Me Off | 23 |
| Tolü Makay (singer-songwriter) | Maciej Zięba | Rumba | Faith Hill’s There You’ll Be | 33 |
| Anne Cassin (Nationwide presenter) | Robert Rowiński | Quickstep | Val Doonican’s Ann | 24 |
| Philip Doyle (Olympic rower) | Daniela Roze | American Smooth | Glen Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy | 33 |
| Stephanie Kelly (Fair City star) | Ervinas Merfeldas | Charleston | Dolly Style’s Yihaa | 27 |
| Katelyn Cummins (Rose of Tralee) | Leonardo Lini | Quickstep | Marty Mone’s Hit the Diff | 30 |
Music remains a core production lever for live entertainment TV
Even when a competition series is sold on choreography and celebrity casting, song selection does much of the week-to-week audience work. The January 25 episode moved between contemporary U.S. country and pop repertoire and catalogue selections with strong recognition value, creating a coherent “live variety” experience inside a competition framework and reinforcing RTÉ’s positioning of the series as a family-hour tentpole.
From a production perspective, the music layer is not ornamental. Established performance formats typically rely on cleared music to drive tone, staging, and week themes, while also supporting promotional clips and digital distribution. As with other RTÉ entertainment properties licensed under collective rights regimes supervised by the Irish music rights organisation and by EU audiovisual rules, the show’s broadcast and streaming availability introduces additional rights considerations-particularly when episodes are made available on catch-up services alongside linear transmission-because the programme must be able to exploit the performance footage beyond the initial live slot.
In practical terms, that means each routine is not just a dance; it is also a music-led audiovisual segment that has to function in short-form highlights, recap packaging and social-media cuts, as well as the full broadcast.
Remaining couples: who performed what on January 25
Eric Roberts, the Ireland AM presenter, danced a Viennese Waltz with professional partner Arianna Favaro to Chris Stapleton’s version of Tennessee Whiskey, receiving 31 points.
Niamh Kavanagh, identified on the programme as a Eurovision winner, performed a Cha-cha-cha with Stephen Vincent to Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much, earning 16 points.
Jordan Dargan, described as a The Apprentice UK star, performed a Paso Doble with professional partner Rebecca Scott to Jelly Roll’s Dead End Road, scoring 34 points.
Paudie Moloney, identified as a The Traitors Ireland star, danced a Quickstep with Laura Nolan to Declan Nerney’s Stop the World and Let Me Off, receiving 23 points.
Singer-songwriter Tolü Makay performed what the programme described as the first Rumba of the season with professional dancer Maciej Zięba, dancing to Faith Hill’s There You’ll Be and earning 33 points.
Anne Cassin, the Nationwide presenter, danced a Quickstep with professional partner Robert Rowiński to Val Doonican’s Ann, scoring 24 points.
Olympic rower Philip Doyle performed an American Smooth with professional partner Daniela Roze to Glen Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy, receiving 33 points.
Fair City star Stephanie Kelly danced a Charleston with professional partner Ervinas Merfeldas to Dolly Style’s Yihaa, earning 27 points.
Katelyn Cummins, associated on the programme with Rose of Tralee, performed a Quickstep with professional partner Leonardo Lini to Marty Mone’s Hit the Diff, receiving 30 points.
Dedicated Dance Week is scheduled to air on Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 6:30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, with producers expected to lean further into themed staging and cleared-music set pieces as the competition moves into its middle phase.
