Nicky Byrne has admitted that he wanted to be the Irish version of Bruce Forsyth since his stint on Strictly Come Dancing.
The singer competed on the BBCÂ show in 2012, the same year Girls Aloud star Kimberly Walsh took to the shiny floor – but told Goss.ie that he was more interested in presenting a show like Strictly.
The 2fm star admitted that he looked up to the legendary Bruce Forsyth, who used to host the show alongside Tess Daly.
“I’ve always wanted to be the Bruce [Forsyth], the Tess [Daly], always,” he said after it was revealed he would be RTE’s Dancing With The Stars host.
Hosts: Nicky and Amanda are presenting Dancing With The Stars on RTE in the new year | VIPIRELAND.COM
Working beside the stunning Amanda Byram, Nicky will be presenting the show as a host of celebrities dance their way to the top every weekend.
“If I watch the X Factor, I want to be Dermot O’Leary. If I watch American Idol, I want to be Ryan Seacrest,” he told Goss.ie.
“Ryan Seacrest and Dermot O’Leary were always the people – even as a kid Gay Byrne – they’re the people that I looked up to and thought ‘I could do that job.’
“With Strictly, having been in Westlife and on that stage, I always felt and enjoyed that side of it. I enjoyed the performance side of it more than anything else.”
Stars: The 2FM star admitted he has always wanted to be a presenter like Bruce Forsyth | VIPIRELAND.COM
The Dubliner revealed that it was his wife Georgina Byrne that helped him pursue the challenge and perform on Strictly Come Dancing.
“I remember the Westlife years, we would perform on Strictly as a band and Georgina would say to me, ‘You would be great on that if you had the time to do it,'” he continued.
“So as soon as Westlife decided we were going to call it a day, it’s the only reality show I would’ve done as a contestant. Hosting is a different story but certainly as a contestant it’s the only one.
“You learn a talent, you’re being judged, you can’t cheat it, you get out of it what you put into it.”
Support: Nicky revealed that his wife Georgina gave him a small push to perform on Strictly | VIPIRELAND.COM
Nicky also admitted that after he left the ITV show, he even asked if Strictly would be coming to the Irish stage.
“While I was there, I would have been looking at Tess and Bruce and gone, ‘You know what, maybe just maybe this one day.’ I think when I came home in 2013 I might have even enquired with people would this every come to Ireland and could it ever come to Ireland.
“It’s such a big show that needs such a big budget that you can’t do it half arsed it needs to be all bells and whistles, and they’ve gone for it. They’ve gone for me and Amanda which is in my opinion amazing,” he added.
Dancing With The Stars airs on Sunday January 8th on RTE 1 from 6.30pm.
