'Judges’ votes should override': Liveline debates Paudie’s popularity as Limerick man dominates DWTS

LIMERICK Traitors star Paudie Moloney’s unlikely run to the final of RTE's Dancing with the Stars has become one of the most talked-about storylines of the TV offering this spring.

His place among the four remaining finalists has sparked a lively national debate about what the programme is really about: dancing ability or entertainment value.

That debate played out on Thursday on Liveline on RTÉ Radio 1, where listeners aired strong opinions on the progress of Kilmallock's Paudie in the competition.

One caller, Philip O’Malley told presenter Kieran Cuddihy that he believed Paudie should not have reached the final.

READ MORE: Sneak peek: Limerick's Paudie hits the floor in Kilmallock ahead of DWTS final

"It should be personality with the stars, not Dancing with the Stars," he said, arguing that stronger technical performers had already left the competition.

Philip also suggested the voting process should be made public — though he acknowledged he had no evidence to support claims that the competition was "rigged."

"I've called on Kevin Bakhurst and Larry Bass to release the voting records of the contestants. But I just think, and again, I'm going to say this on the public airwaves this afternoon, I just think that the voting process is rigged."

Former Irish rugby international Shane Byrne, himself a former contestant on the show, spoke to presenter Kieran Cuddihy, highlighting that popularity has always been central to the format.

Shane stated: "Paudie and Laura have been doing a fantastic job the whole way through it and his popularity has just continued on since The Traitors. And that's the thing that has to be understood. This is an entertainment show."

Shane explained that the contestants rehearse for six or seven hours daily. "Paudie's doing the exact same as everyone else... More people are being drawn to him, that's good work by him and Laura."

Presenter Kieran Cuddihy also revealed that the most popular video shared on Dancing with the Star's social media accounts from this series to date was of Paudie dancing to the music of 'Gangnam style'.

Ireland AM presenter Elaine Crowley, who also previously took part in Dancing with the Stars, praised Paudie's relatability to viewers, saying: "With someone like Paudie you can imagine that, "Oh my God, that's my grandad doing that," or, "I could be that person doing that." It's not inaccessible. They're not professional dancers."

Another viewer named Anne also shared Philip's thoughts about the credibility of Dancing with the Stars. 

"It's a travesty compared to what it used to be. It has sunk now to low form of entertainment and I loved Traitors... Traitors was fabulous, but this is dancing."

She suggested that the judges votes should have more weight than the public vote. "The judges' votes should override the public votes. It should be either 75/25 or 60/40 or maybe even more."

Anne Cassin who was voted out of the Dancing with the Stars earlier in the series believes Paudie will win the competition.

She said: "He has a great public vote. The critical thing is that he's got great support from the public... it's the public who decide."

Brian Cronin who previously worked with Paudie for many years praised his former colleague, saying: "It's great to see that an ordinary individual can excel in the public eye... I hope Paudie finishes the job now and wins it out. Wouldn't it be marvellous?"

He added that Paudie has no illusions about his dancing ability. "He'd be the first to tell you 'I'm not the best dancer in the world.' I was listening to some of your callers, and they were giving out, if you like, and saying they were upset that the likes of Paudie were on the show... I think they're quite wrong, and I think they missed the point of the entire show."

Limerick woman Lorraine is enjoying supporting Paudie in the competition. "We're supporting our own down here in Limerick and best of luck to him."

"A lot of the younger children, so kind of from junior infants, senior infants, first class, all the way up, they're stone mad about Paudie... They're talking about it on the Monday morning. They're all thrilled that he's gone through, so there's a lot of support for Paudie and Laura down here, particularly with the younger age group."