Westlife star Nicky Byrne has revealed his Mammy was less-than-impressed with the Strictly Come Dancing judges after they booted her boy off the show.
The singer is now working as a host on the Irish talent show Dancing with the Stars and was speaking on the show’s podcast ahead of the quarter finals.
Byrne speculated as to who would be crowned champion from the remaining contestants – celebrity priest Father Ray Kelly, Miss Universe Ireland Grainne Gallanagh, Kilkenny hurler Aidan Fogarty, Fair City actor Ryan Andrews and 2fm DJ Lottie Ryan.
Byrne said: “I think the final will be Grainne, Ryan and I think – this is not who I want to be let’s just put that on the record – but I think the final will be Grainne, Ryan and Lottie.
“I don’t know if Aidan will get in there ahead of one of them.
“I think if Ray gets to the final I think he’ll win it, honestly I do believe that because what you find in the final is, you get a lot of people at home watching the final that may not have watched it for the whole series or certainly have not voted for the whole series.
“But I think with Ray I think he’s one of those characters that people go, ‘we’ll vote for him for the craic’.”
As the competition reaches its final phase, Byrne looked back at his own experience as a contestant on the British version of the show Strictly Come Dancing.
He made it through to the quarter finals of the 2012 edition, and remembers his Mam was frosty with he judges after they eliminated him.
Byrne said: “I also got absolutely lambasted by the judges weekly, particularly Craig Revel Horwood who is a lovely guy off camera, but my God did he hammer me on camera.
“Very funny story actually, on the night I got voted off, we got back to the bar at the old BBC television centre.
“I’m in the bar, I’m devastated because I wanted to win the show. My mam is sitting there and she’s talking to one of the producers of the show, having a great old natter.
“So, picture an Irish mammy sitting down at the table, Craig and me are standing up and I say, ‘Craig this is my mam’ so Craig bends down and puts his hand out to shake her hand and she left him hanging.
“And I got a little bit embarrassed and I said, ‘Aw mam it’s Craig, he’s playing a role as well, he’s playing Mr Nasty.’
“And he went to her, ‘oh I’m really sorry, I’m only playing a role’ or whatever.
“My mam said, ‘well I don’t care, he’s my son’.
“And I was like, ‘Oh yes mum! Get in’.”
Here is the final dance from Byrne and his partner Karen Hauer that saw the pair eliminated. We think Byrne’s Mammy was right, it looks pretty good to us.
