AIT graduate to appear on 'Dancing with the Stars'

A graduate of Athlone Instititute of Technology is getting ready to quickstep her way onto the new series of 'Dancing with the Stars' when it returns to RTÉ One in the new year.

Yewande Biala, who came to public notice when she starred in the summer 2019 series of 'Love Island', is one of 11 celebrities who will partner with professional dancers in the hope of claiming the coveted 'glitter ball' trophy.

Yewande hails from Enfield in County Meath, and was a student at AIT from 2012 to 2016, when she qualified with a first class honours degree in Biotechnology.

Speaking about her participation in the hit television show, Yewande said: “I’m super excited to learn new moves and meet new people. It’ll be interesting to get to know everyone. I just want to enjoy the experience overall really.”

Yewande is not the only contestant on the show with Westmeath connections. Tyrrellspass native Fr Ray Kelly, widely known as 'the singing priest', will also be taking to the dance floor in the new series.

He's hoping he will become as comfortable hitting the dance floor as he is hitting the high notes: “I’m very excited but there’s a little bit of apprehension there as well because it’s not singing. I’m hoping that it won’t be two left feet all the time and that I’ll be able to get it together,” said Fr Ray.

Boxer Michael Carruth and TV presenter Glenda Gilson have also been confirmed as part of the line-up.

The new series of Dancing with the Stars airs on RTE One for 12 weeks from Sunday January 5 at 6.30pm, presented by Jennifer Zamparelli and Nicky Byrne.