Dancing With The Stars is one of RTÉ most successful shows, but it’s not just Irish viewers that are loving it, as Glee star Damian Mc Ginty revealed his American fans have been tuning in from across the pond to support him.
The Derry native has been in the American showbiz world since he was just 14, when he began touring with Celtic Thunder. He then won reality series The Glee Project, and had a starring spot on the drama/comedy Glee. And the American fans he accumulated during that time have stayed loyal, as he joined the Irish DWTS series.
“Whatever way my career has been to this point. It’s always primarily been based in the States. You know, that’s where the majority of my major opportunities would come. So I’ve, over 15, 16 years now, been fortunate to build a profile and a career there. I’m fortunate to have a foundational audience that have come with me everywhere I go,” he explained.
“So yeah, we’re having a lot of Americans tuning in to the show, you know, whether it’s the RTÉ Player or whether it’s different means.”
“It has their attention and they’re really enjoying the journey and kind of following along and getting to know the Irish cast.”
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And American audiences are impressed, with Damian complimenting the Irish, sharing how its on par with its American counterpart, being “very similar.”
He praised: “I have to have to compliment ShinAwiL [the show’s production company], I think they do an absolutely phenomenal job, I really, really do. Like I think this production is unbelievably stellar. And you can see that there’s a lot of love behind the production. There’s a lot of care from the production.”
“Every Sunday night, we’ve all been hearing that it’s the number one show on a Sunday night and I think that’s no coincidence.”
“I think there’s a lot of hard work and love and blood, sweat and tears put into the show, not just from the dancers, but from a lot of people behind the scenes, we work with. From wardrobe, to makeup to people who do the sets, to the production team itself. And everybody does an amazing job and I have to compliment ShinAwiL because it really shows. It’s such a stellar spectacle!”
The choice to return to Ireland for DWTS was “a no-brainer” for Damian, as he is excited to spend time here, revealing he and wife Anna Claire Sneed are considering making a move this side of the pond, and setting up an Irish base alongside their Nashville home.
With the singer confessing that after turning 30, the idea of living between Ireland and Nashville became much more tempting.
“My head is definitely getting to a place where I’m starting to think of transitioning a bit of my career more to Ireland, a wee bit more, so I can like spend time here.”
“If myself and my wife, if we decide to have children, I obviously want to make sure they have the Irish experience growing up, because I love Ireland. This is home for me, and always will be, and it’s really, really important for me to instill that in my family as well. Even though my life and my career has primarily been United States based, moving forward. I’d like to balance that out a lot more.”
Dancing With The Stars continues tomorrow at 6.30pm on RTÉ One.
