Nicky Byrne has revealed he’s “hopeful” that Dancing With The Stars will return next year.
The Westlife star co-hosts the popular show, which was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Jennifer Zamparelli.
Speaking at RTÉ’s new season launch about the series, Nicky said: “Officially it’s not back yet, but it’s not not back. I’m hearing some positive signs which is a good thing.”
“Obviously it’s a huge production with a huge crew, so I guess it’s about negotiating all of that under the government restrictions. I know they’re trying their best to tick all those boxes,” he explained.
“It’s exciting if it does happen, I think we all need a bit of glitter in our lives. It’s a fun, easy show to do… I think if it does come back, it’ll be well worth the wait having missed last year and the final the year before.”
“I’m hopeful. But as we’re only too well aware, we’ve seen how quickly things can change from opening up to the strict lockdowns, to different variants – anything can change in a heartbeat.”
“At the moment, I think things are moving in the right direction, but are we over the line with the green light yet? I haven’t heard that no. So let’s just say fingers crossed.”
Nicky will host a brand new talent series on RTÉ this autumn called Last Singer Standing – a karaoke-inspired game show where singers from around Ireland compete to win a €25k prize.
Pop superstars Nadine Coyle, Joey Fatone and Samantha Mumba will be joining the show as panelists, offering their expert opinions and advice throughout the series.
Speaking about the new show, Nicky said: “It’s a new format, it’s not tired like previous talent shows became after so many years on television.”
“It’s just a really interesting game show, but it involves singing and has a great pot panel… I think it’s got the ability to break across America, even to break into Asia. This could go far and beyond and I hope it does.”
