Following on from the huge success of last year’s debut ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Live final, IFTN spoke with Shinawil CEO Larry Bass ahead of this year’s showdown to get an insight into behind the scenes of one of RTÉ’s biggest live production.
Season two has seen a lot of twists and turns with Musician Jake Carter, Camogie star & Irelands Fittest Family Coach Anna Geary, and Comedian & IFTA host Deirdre O’Kane, the final three left in the competition ahead of Sundays live final.
Speaking about this season, Shinawil’s Larry Bass told IFTN - “We are delighted that season two of DWTS reaches its final weekend with the whole country on the edge of their seats wondering if Anna, Deirdre or Jake will waltz away with the glitter ball trophy.”
Undoubtedly, one of the most impressive television sets ever assembled for a live production on RTÉ, Bass went on to talk about some of the crew responsible for such an impressive achievement - “This has been a 6 month production with Exec Producer Sheila Meaney sharing the ExecProducer role with me for a second season.” said Bass. “The set in Film Factory built by Eamonn Fox and the set team, designed by Fiona Cunningham, and lit by Peter Canning and the High Resolution Team. Our Dance and choreography led by Darren Bennet and Lilia Kopylova.”
The series is produced by Shinawil with Eugenia Cooney & Ailbhe Maher working as series producers on the live show. Richard Valentine is series director, while the Outside Broadcasting facilities are provided by NEP and post production is done by Piranha Bar.
Speaking about the size of the workforce on any give Dancing with the Stars live show, Bass added - “The full team working on set each Sunday is over 160 people, and we are looking forward to another monster final weekend.”
‘Dancing With The Stars’ has proven a ratings hit with last week’s series Semi-Final taking an average audience share of 39%, and boasting an average audience of 590,000 viewers. The season itself has amassed an average audience share of 38%, with over six million people having tuned in over the course of series two, averaging 556,636 viewers each week.
Hosts Nicky Byrne & Amanda Byram will present the ‘Dancing with the Stars: Grand Final’ this Sunday, March 25th from 6:30pm on RTÉ One.