Dancing With The Stars Ireland made its highly-anticipated return last night, January 7, with queer favourite Blu Hydrangea emerging as a frontrunner. The Belfast drag queen and their pro partner Simone Arena danced the cha-cha-cha to ‘You’re Free’ by Ultra Naté, scoring an incredible 24 points and topping the leaderboard for week one of series seven.
Prior to the performance, Blu, also known as Joshua Cargill, said they were “ready to slay this competition,” and did exactly that! Judge Lorraine Barry described the routine as “sexy, sassy and so much fun – the three things you need to bring on a cha-cha-cha”.
“Great feet, great legs, great hips and you absolutely showed it. Thank you so much for a textbook cha-cha-cha,” she added.
Arthur Gourounlian said the dance was “almost a flawless routine”, while Brian Redmond said the pair were “fantastic”.
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Each judge scored the routine an impressive eight, resulting in the highest ranking of the night. David Whelan and Salome Chachua followed closely behind with 23 points, while two other pairs, composed of Laura Fox and Denys Samson and Katja Mia and Ervinas Merfeldas, finished in joint third with a score of 21 a piece.
Taking to Instagram after the fact, the 26-year-old performer wrote, “That was INSANE! I lost so much confidence on stage over the past few years and this opportunity is slowly bringing it back”.
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Competing in Dancing With The Stars Ireland, Blu Hyrdrangea hopes to repeat the success they had in RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World, which they won in 2022. Those wishing to support the performer can vote to keep them in the show by calling 1513 71 71 01 for Irish residents or 0901 133 11 01 for people in Northern Ireland. Alternatively, viewers can text BLU to 53125 to cast their vote.
The next episode of Dancing With The Stars Ireland will air on RTÉ One on Sunday, January 14, with last night’s available to view on the RTÉ Player.
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