The Belfast singer became the second celebrity to leave the competition on Sunday night’s Movie Week after his Paso Doble failed to gather enough votes to stay on the show
Brian Kennedy has reacted to his Dancing With The Stars elimination, saying he feels more proud than disappointed and that he will never forget the experience.
The singer became the second celebrity to exit the RTE competition on Sunday night’s Movie Week.
Brian packed a punch with a powerful Paso Doble to The Phantom of the Opera, but it wasn’t enough to see him go through to next week’s Country Special.
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Speaking to RSVP Live after his elimination, Brian said: “I’m certainly a better man for doing this show. We had such fun, we danced to incredible music. My outfits were hilarious, and I’m amazed I lasted so long.”
Brian was partnered with professional dancer James Cutler for the show and is delighted to have proven to himself he can still learn a new skill after years of health woes.
In recent years, the Belfast man has battled rectal cancer, contracted Covid-19 and suffered a massive heart attack, which resulted in a quadruple bypass.
“I’m definitely more proud than disappointed I would say,” Brian explained.
“We put the work in, and this is how these shows go. I know how to lose, I’ve been in Eurovision! At the same time, I really put my best foot forward.
“This is the first time I’ve done anything this physical since all of those horrible health issues, so it has proven to me I can put up with stress, I can put up with full on rehearsals, and not having my dinner at an early time.
“It’s been a great learning curve for me – to not be afraid of doing challenges like this in your late 50s, going into your 60s, so I’m delighted I did it.”
Brian found himself at the bottom of the leader board on Sunday night but never paid much attention to his scores.
He also praised his fellow contestants, such as podcaster Amber Wilson, Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins and singer Tolu Makay, for their improvement each week.
“You’ve seen the people at the top, they are amazing dancers,” Brian said, before adding with a laugh: “They are also 23, I’m nearly 60, come on!”
“It’s so exciting to see people flourish,” he continued.
“Even Amber, who was afraid of her own shadow on week one, absolutely you could see she has garnered a bit of confidence in herself. That’s been lovely to watch.
“Tolu has always been brilliant, Katelyn has always been brilliant. I’m going to chalk this off as a fabulous experience. I’ll never forget it, it was such fun.”
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