With just two shows to go on Dancing with the Stars the cream has risen to the top - even tough taskmaster Brian Redmond reckons: "We've got five great dancers now."
Redmond is renowned as the toughest of the DWTS judging panel and has often played the panto villain role with withering remarks when analysing the performances of celebritries on the show.
He's not one for taking prisoners. So when he reckons the remaining quintet are all class, it means we're in for a memorable qnd hugely competitive semi-final and final as this year's glitterball winner is determined.
The five survivors are Olympians Jack Woolley and Rhys McClenaghan, social media star Kayleigh Trappe, Mrs Brown's Boys star Danny O’Carroll, and former Miss Universe Ireland Aishah Akorede.
Given their backgrounds in taekwondo and gymnastics, Wooley and McClenaghan have been favourites from early on in this year's run. But Brian Redmond considers the contest to be wide open with two shows to go.
""We have five great dancers now," he insists. "They're so close. You have to be picky to find the difference between them. So that leads me to pick up on mistakes in certain parts of their dances.
"You have two dancers in particular - Jack and Rhys - who have been fantastic since day one. But the challenge they face is staying ahead of the other three.
"Danny was in the dance-off last week but he managed to catch up on Sunday. But Kayleigh managed to put herself into the league of Jack and Rhys - and Aishah has been fantastic too."
Last Sunday's Dancing with the Stars saw the departure of chef Kevin Dundon, who freely admitted that dancing wasn't his thing. But he departed his show as he joined it - with a smile on his face.
While he also brought a smile to many viewers' faces, he wasn't considered a serious challenger. And although Brian Redmond wouldn't say that he was glad Kevin was gone, he puts his departure in perspective.
"What do I say about Kevin leaving the show? If I say I am happy, it will sound like I was happy to see him go," Redmond says, before evaluating Dundon's contribution to a memorable Dancing with the Stars run.
"I was happy with how Kevin went," he emphasised." I think he knew he was the weakest dancer left in the competition. But managing to get so close to the semi-final or the final, he never got a swelled head.
"He has every reason to be proud of himself, he puts himself out there in front of the public and he was very well received.
"I have to say he has been exemplary as to how he behaved on the show and was a pleasure to know. But he didn't give me any recipes!"
He also recalls that he'd shared lunch with Kevin Dundon last Sunday, just hours before the chef departed the show. But Redmond is also keen to point out that mingling with the stars isn't the norm for the judges.
It's understood that it's best for the judges to give the contestants a wide berth in the run-up to the live show on Sunday so they're not distracted or sidelined as they work on their dance routines.
"For instance," he says, "we never go near the Liffey Trust rehearsal rooms just out of respect for their performances. You just got to give them space to work through the glitches in their dances.
"That's also out of respect for the performances.
"But once their dance shoes come off, I'm delighted to meet them," he adds. "That could be in the car park when they're coming and going from the studio, or sitting down to have lunch together on a Sunday before the show."
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