Mrs Browns Boy star Danny O’Carroll has praised his girlfriend Tina, his sons and father Brendan O’Carroll for keeping him going when he felt extremely down during Dancing with the Stars struggles.
Danny O’Carroll has praised his girlfriend Tina and his family for getting him through periods where he admitted he felt very ‘down’ during his Dancing with the Stars journey.
Danny admitted there were many moments he wanted to quit and found himself really struggling, telling RSVP, “I was thinking at one stage how do I fake breaking my legs to get out of this contract.”
“I nearly gave up a couple times. I just missed everything at home.”
“But my partner Tina, my sons, talking to them got me through. I was missing home and missing them, they were missing me also. But they were saying, if you leave, it’ll be all for nothing. Why would you leave?” the Mrs Browns Boys star revealed.
“They kept saying Danny, just keep going. Please keep going Dad. You’re making us all so proud.”
Danny also revealed that the emotional moment his dad, Brendan O’Carroll, surprised him during rehearsals, came at exactly the right moment, picking him up during a particularly difficult week.
Previously, Danny hoped his dad would be able to come back to Ireland to see him perform in the show if he made it to the final, but Brendan arrived a week early for the semi-final, just when Danny needed him most.
“It didn’t feel real [when I saw him]. It was amazing. It was amazing to have him for the two days he was here. This show, it’s absolutely exhausting. It’s mentally draining. You’ve got your ups and downs.”
“Last week, it was a particularly down week for me. I was really stressed out. I had a lot of personal things going on as well. Dad has always had this thing where when he’s around, you feel like everything’s going to be okay. So it was just the perfect moment if he was ever going to come in, that it was then, I really needed him. He’s always my good luck charm.”
Danny also admitted that he feels no interest in lifting the Glitterball trophy but has kept fighting every week for his family, adding he would particularly love to win for dance partner and professional dancer Salome Chachua.
“I feel like I’m doing it for everyone else. I am doing it for myself, obviously, but it’s everybody else that wants me to lift that glitterball.”
“I’ll be honest. I don’t have any interest in lifting the glitterball but I would love to do it for Salome . She has put in so much work. The work that she does just blows me away. She does this every year and she’s been so close, she’s been in the final four times now and never lifted the glitterball and I‘d love to be the person to give that to her.”
“But also to do it for my two boys, and my partner Tina, they’ve worked through this whole thing with me from day one. And as much as I’ve found it hard being away from them, being down here. They also struggled back in Donegal and they missed me. But they were pushing me so much to keep going when I needed it”.
The actor and his partner Salome will dance the Charleston to Don’t Blame it On Me by Michael Bublé on Sunday night’s final.
The performance, which was danced all the way back in week two, scored the couple four nines and remains Danny’s highest-scoring dance to date.
And ahead of the final, Danny promised he plans to give the performance of his life, and is looking forward to a ‘party’ atmosphere on the night free of the pressure of eliminations, adding he feels all four finalists are winners now.
“ We can’t go any further, we’re all winners. We aren’t doing any dance offs so it doesn’t matter what happens”, he explained.
“This week is great as there is no pressure, we’re not scared to go home, we’re not scared to mess up or for judges’ comments. We’re just going to enjoy it. I’m going out this week and I’m going to give the biggest party dances that I can give. That’s what I’m going to do. “
Dancing With The Stars airs Sunday nights at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
