Crooner Daniel O’Donnell made a splash with his Strictly Come Dancing debut – earning an impressive score of 24 out of 40.
Dressed in a classic long-tailed black tux, Daniel took to a dance floor to waltz to When Irish Eyes are Smiling with his partner Kristina Rihanoff.
The Donegal native received praise from judge Len Goodman who gushed over him for having “the best footwork” he’d ever seen but added that his “hold” could have been stronger.
“You danced like the perfect gentleman. I know there are nerves out there but just relax your back and look at Kristina as much as you can,” said former Ballerina D’Arcy Bussell.
While fellow judge Bruno Tonioli added that Daniel was was “prim, proper, very collected, very well placed and very, very pleasing.”
However, it wasn’t all sweetness that Daniel received as Craig Revel Horwood claimed that the performance was “uneventful”.
Speaking to Maura Derrane and Daithi O Se on RTE’s Today before his debut, the music star revealed his nerves were kicking in.
Nerves: Daniel admitted he was nervous before his first performance | VIPIRELAND.COM
“I’m as nervous as hell – I might look chilled but I’m not a bit, I’m afraid. I was showing Kristina some of the steps of a barn dance so you might see a wee bit of a barn dance,” he admitted.
“If I last long enough you might see some of that in the future dances on Strictly.
“I don’t know if the judges will appreciate it or not but we’re certainly talking about slipping it in there. I don’t know whether it will go down too well or not,” he added.
Public voting will open tonight when the show continues on BBC One at 9.00pm.
