Eric Roberts revealed as Dancing with the Stars 2026 contestant

Ireland AM host Eric Roberts has been revealed as the sixth contestant taking to the dance floor on this season’s Dancing with the Stars.

The series returns to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player to brighten up our Sundays this January. He may be the host with the most, but can he do the cha-cha?

Donegal native Eric, from Glen village, outside of Carrigart, first gained widespread attention through his social media presence, particularly on TikTok and Instagram, where he has over 1 million followers. He has recently joined Ireland AM on weekends, alongside former DWTS contestant Elaine Crowley.

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Earlier this year, he launched his debut children’s book Gary the Stinky Goose, which was inspired by Eric’s years as a Special Needs Assistant (SNA) in Donegal, and by his nephew Oisín who has cerebral palsy and autism.

Speaking about joining Dancing with the Stars this season, Eric said: “I’m so excited to get stuck into training and equally terrified at what lies ahead! I’ve been a fan of the show for years and some of my friends have taken part and told me how amazing the experience is and also how difficult it can be! So, I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for it all. I’ve had a couple of fittings and let’s just say it’s stuff I wouldn’t normally wear, but I’m leaving it up to the professionals and stylist every week – I'm up for anything (within reason)!

"My family were so excited when I told them the news! It’s a huge time commitment and I have a young son so it wasn’t something we jumped into. My wife is extremely supportive and told me to go for it! I’m excited to learn all the dances. I grew up loving hip hop and robotics. I taught myself how to do hip hop in my bedroom after watching Step Up – just in case anyone challenged me to a dance battle – and I loved it so much. I haven’t broken out those moves now in a while so it might be time to bring them back. I’m so happy to be taking part this year! It’s so surreal to me and I don’t think it will actually hit home until the show is kicking off, but hopefully I’ll be up for the challenge.”

The next three celebrity dancers will be revealed on The Late Late Show tonight on RTÉ One. The remaining dancers will then be unveiled on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Dancing with the Stars is hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli and Laura Fox. Filling our Sunday evenings with glitz and glamour from January, the RTÉ series will see 12 well-known figures team up with a professional dancer to perform a live routine every week. Each pairing will have a different dancing genre to master every week, from the Charleston to Salsa, and they’ll have just seven days to perfect their routine before performing live to the nation.

Each celebrity couple will be scored by an expert panel of four judges: Oti Mabuse, Brian Redmond, Arthur Gourounlian and Karen Byrne, and as well as the viewing public at home, with the winning couple claiming the much-coveted glitter ball trophy at the end of the series.

Tune in for all the glitz and glam from Sunday 4 January on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.