Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels

Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels
Genre	Talent show
Presented by	Marty Whelan
Country of origin	Ireland
Original language(s)	English
Distributor	RTÉ
Release
Original network	RTÉ One
Original release	March 2006 – 31 December 2006/1 January 2007

Celebrity Jigs n' Reels was an Irish reality entertainment television show broadcast on RTÉ One. It was produced by Mind The Gap Films.

The series started out with seven celebrities paired with professional Irish dancers. Each week they were given a contemporary Irish rock or pop song (as chosen by producers), to which the professional Irish dancer had to choreograph a traditional Irish dance. They would then dance for the judges, who would give feedback and subsequently award points. The dancers then faced a public vote, with the two couples who received the lowest number of votes having to face the judges again. When the judges revealed the number of points they were awarding, the couple with the lower score were eliminated.

Series one launched in March 2006, in the slot regularly occupied by You're a Star. With a mix of high-profile celebrities such as the singer Dana and Olympic gold medallist Michael Carruth, as well as relative unknowns, such as Emma O'Driscoll and Suzanne Walshe, the show slowly climbed the ratings and achieved a reported 43 per cent audience share.

Jean Butler, George Hook, Colin Dunne, Robert O'Byrne

On 31 December 2006, Celebrity Jigs n'Reels returned to ring Ireland into the New Year live on RTÉ One. Seven brand new celebrities danced for one night only to raise money for charity and bring in 2007. The format differed from series one in that no celebrity represented a specific charity; instead all the money raised went to Focus Ireland and The Simon Community, both of which look after the homeless. Hilda Fay (from Fair City) was crowned champion, beating former Big Brother star Ray Shah, model Celia Holman Lee, GAA All Star Oisín McConville, and ex Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan.

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