The latest issue of VIP Magazine hits the shelves today, ready to be perused. Our coverstar’s this month are none other than Dancing With The Star’s Suzanne Jackson, Panti Bliss, Brooke Scullion and Stephanie Roche.
We got chatting with these dancing queens to hear about their life changing experiences the last few weeks.
Suzanne was candid in her revelation of her expectations for her time on the show between the difficult dances, the self doubt and most of all the unexpected nerves, she was ready to ring up and quit.
Panti describes the time as fun, exciting, sore, tiring and frustrating; a proper well rounded experience. We discuss dancing with a same sex partner and whether it was a big deciding factor in booking the show, having a laugh with the wonderful Denys and the competition between contestants.
Eurovision star Brooke Scullion talks challenging and testing her body as well as being used to the pressures of performing on stage making it slightly less nerve wrecking week on week. She reveals the brutal training schedule – we were just out of breath listening to it, while finally talking what’s next for her.
Stephanie talks making memories, getting up close and personal with Ervinas, her pro partner and the difficulties of performing well. We discuss her husband’s unrelenting support and breaking out some practice poses while walking down the street: “You put so much into it” she says, “and that’s why when you get low scores it’s hard because you do so much work to try perfect a dance in rehearsals but it all comes down to how you perform it on the night”.
We also got to speak with TV presenter, Katja Mia. She talks about landing in a tedious corporate job after college leaving her love for entertainment behind. It wasn’t till the pandemic struck that like many others she re-evaluated where she was and where she wanted to be.
Taking up space on social media she launched herself as an influencer gaining traction and attracting the attention of one Love Island presenter before being scouted for a presenting role on one of Ireland’s biggest tv shows. She tells us all about graft, grit and gratitude, everything that pushed her in the direction of the things she loves.
She says: “I’m such a firm believer in prayer and manifestation. It comes from 2020, the worst year of everyone’s lives. I picked up this book called The Secret and it really changed my perspective on so many things!”
While we’re in the midst of this year’s Operation Transformation we were delighted to get to speak to Dr. Sumi Dunne, the show’s cool, calm and collected GP expert. We talk looking after Asian skin, her level of calm even with a hectic work schedule which she attributes to just getting older and managing her time better.
Talking immigration we delve into her own backstory as well as the support from immigrant communities in London compared to the rolling hills of Laois that her own children grew up with the rolling fields of the Laois countryside.
It was her story of returning to India in 1999 and meeting a man up a mountain that had us hooked: “There is one bar that everyone who is in Katmandu visits, so we headed there. There was a Beatles band playing, there was dry ice and out from the dry ice this really tall guy appeared and he just went, ‘Howya!’ We got talking and the rest, as they say, is history!”
We also have a whole host of beauty, fashion and lifestyle content for you to enjoy, so make sure to pick up your copy in-store today!
