Comedian, podcaster, and TV personality Gearóid Farrelly is set to trade stand-up for Salsa in his latest adventure as he takes to the dancefloor for the upcoming eighth season of Dancing with the Stars.
A seasoned performer with an impressive comedy career, Gearóid's breakthrough came when he was announced as a finalist in the So You Think You’re Funny? competition at the Edinburgh Festival.
He has shared stages with comedy greats, and has opened for Joan Rivers, Sarah Millican, Patton Oswalt, Neil Delamere and Joanne McNally.
He has earned rave reviews for his solo shows, including acclaim for his five-star Edinburgh Festival debut, Turbulence.
On trading his comedy chops for Chassé Gearóid said, "I am absolutely terrified. Well, I was terrified before the meet and greet, walking into that room was genuinely one of the scariest things I have ever done.
"But everybody is so nice, we are gelling as a gang so fast and I’m just enjoying every second of it."
Gearóid will dance as part of a same-sex couple on the show. The dancer’s identity will be revealed on Monday December 16th, as part of this run's celebrity pro pairings.
Speaking about his dance partner, Gearóid commented: "As a young gay kid, if I had seen two men dancing together on the television, it would have been such a relief. My pro partner was also bullied at school because he was the dancer.
"So, we were really on the same page with this. He’s just the best. I was a little concerned at the beginning about being in this man’s space, because he’s straight, and I’m gay, and I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable, or that he felt like he had to do this. So, we’ve had that chat as well and he is so up for this from a choreography point of view."
Speaking about the advice he’s gotten from former contestants, Gearóid said, "I’ve been in the Dancing with the Stars audience before. I came out to see Deirdre O’ Kane, Fred Cooke, Kevin McGahern and Bernard O’Shea, they're all mates of mine and I love the show.
"They’ve all said it’s one of the greatest experiences they've ever had and said to me: get out of your head, live every second and throw yourself in at the deep end."
Off stage, Gearóid is the voice behind the podcasts Fascinated where he invites guests that he is a big fan of, to chat about their career and work. In his other podcast Agony Rants, where he dishes out advice alongside his best friend and Eurovision-winner Niamh Kavanagh.
Gearóid is the third celebrity to be announced following Monday’s reveal of former Miss Universe Ireland, Aishah Akorede and yesterday’s reveal of Mrs Brown’s Boys actor Danny O’Carroll.
The eight remaining celebrity contestants joining the new run of Dancing with the Stars will be announced throughout the rest of this week.
Dancing with the Stars will be hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy again this season.
The two-time Dancing with the Stars winner and professional dancer Karen Byrne will join the judging panel in 2025 alongside longstanding judges Loraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Arthur Gourounlian.
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