It'll be murder on the dance floor, etc...
Dancing with the Stars returns to Irish TV screens for a new series in January, and the line-up has already taken on a very interesting, and quite surprising, shape.
We know the drill with these reality game shows by now – generally you'll have a collection of recognisable faces, some of whom are more capable than others when it comes to the tasks at hand.
And you'll almost always have one or two selections designed either to piss off the public or provoke some vague shock value – take disgraced UK politician
Matt Hancock on the most recent series of
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! as an example that managed to tick both of those boxes, for instance.
And now, the newest name announced for the upcoming return of Dancing with the Stars Ireland is definitely more one for the latter category – well, it's certainly a big surprise at the very least.
Getting ready to strut her stuff on the dance floor is none other than... former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy.
https://twitter.com/DWTSIRL/status/1599313094450499586
Dr Cassidy is of course best known to the Irish public as having served as the first female State Pathologist for the country, across a 14-year period between 2004 and 2018. During this time, her name would come to be associated with numerous high-profile, headline-making cases.
In 2020, Cassidy wrote a book on her time in the role, entitled Beyond the Tape: The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist. It would go on to become a number-one best-seller.
As such, Cassidy is clearly a draw, and something of a major coup for Dancing with the Stars. She joins the likes of previously announced contestants Panti Bliss, Paul Brogan, Suzanne Jackson, and Brooke Scullion.
The new season is set to premiere on RTÉ One in January. Doireann Garrihy is on board as the new co-host to Jennifer Zamparelli, with Nicky Byrne having departed due to his Westlife commitments.
