Missing the Craic and Glamour: Jen and Doireann Say Farewell to DWTS

‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 8 Wraps Up: Hosts Reflect on Glamour and Camaraderie

as the eighth season of “Dancing With the Stars” drew too a close, hosts Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy shared their thoughts on the experience, reflecting on what thay’ll miss most about the show.

The Final Four Face Off

The season culminated with four finalists vying for the glitterball trophy: Olympic gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” actor Danny O’Carroll, social media personality Kayleigh Trappe, and Taekwondo athlete Jack Woolley. Each contestant brought their unique talents to the dance floor, making the competition fierce.

Zamparelli’s Post-Show Plans: Travel and Training

Zamparelli, who stepped back from her mid-morning show on 2FM in May, revealed her plans to unwind after the season. “I’m blowing all my savings,” she laughed, detailing trips to Porto with friends, Verona with her husband, and Lanzarote with her father.These vacations represent a well-deserved break and a chance to reconnect with loved ones.

Along with travel, Zamparelli is also focusing on her fitness. “I’m also training for the mini-marathon for Coolmine house, which is keeping me focused on my fitness,” she explained. While she admits that running is “unbelievably boring,” she sees it as a personal challenge and an prospect to support a good cause.

Zamparelli looks forward to a break from the demands of television. “But I think when the show is over it’ll be nice to not have to wear makeup for a little bit and to not have to get the nails done religiously. And just kind of let myself go,” she added jokingly.

Garrihy’s Return to Drivetime Radio

For Garrihy, life after “DWTS” involves settling into her new 2FM drivetime slot. “Usually I would try to go away straight away afterwards,” she said, noting that her previous breakfast radio schedule made post-show relaxation more challenging. “For the most part, the focus is to bed in with the drivetime show. It just hasn’t been as exhausting because there’s no breakfast, you know, up at 5am on a Monday.”

Garrihy is eager about her return to radio.”I’m really loving being back on air, I missed it so much,” she said.She described the process of adjusting to a new job, experimenting with different approaches, and refining her on-air presence.

Reflecting on her decision to leave breakfast radio, Garrihy said it was based on a “gut feeling”.”It was hard, but it also wasn’t because it was vrey much a gut feeling that it was the right thing to do at the time,” she explained. “It really was the most amazing couple of years, but I’ve no regrets and I know that I made the right decision at the time for me.”

camaraderie and a rock ‘n’ Roll Wrap Party

Despite their busy schedules, Zamparelli and Garrihy value their friendship and working relationship. While they haven’t had time for post-work drinks, Zamparelli joked that she’s “tearing out of there, I’m down the M50 at about 8.35pm, I’m gone,” they both promised to fully embrace the wrap party.

Zamparelli described their typical post-show routine: “For me, it’s a marathon, it’s a very long run and I enjoy it more when I’m not wrecked and tired. I really enjoy getting home and decompressing,” she said.”I don’t know if it’s old age or what it is indeed, but I just want to get home and get my pajamas on and sit in silence.” Garrihy humorously added, “I wish we could say we’re more rock’n’roll than that, but we’re not, we’re quite boring,” before Zamparelli countered, “We will be fairly rock’n’roll, we tend to tear the arse out of it at the wrap party. So we make up for it then.”

Predicting the Winner: Too Close to Call

When asked about who she thought would win,Garrihy demurred,saying it was “so hard to call.” Zamparelli shared a conversation she had with Carl Mullen, a 2FM host and previous “DWTS” winner: “I had a conversation with [2FM host and previous DWTS winner] Carl Mullen the other day and we were like, we think Kayleigh Trappe is peaking at the right time, so it could be her year.” Ultimately,Zamparelli concluded,”Like Doireann said it’s so hard to call,it really depends on the day. I think when it gets to the final all bets are off,it’s a clean slate. What happens on the night will decide.”

No Contestant Dreams, But a Desire to Return

Both hosts were firm in their decision not to participate as contestants.”No! It’s such a massive, major commitment,” Doireann said, citing a “dodgy knee” as another reason. Zamparelli added, “There’s one thing standing on the floor reading words, there’s another thing standing on the floor and thinking of the music and the dancing and everybody looking at you and the potential to fall, it’s the scariest thing ever.”

However, they expressed a clear desire to return as hosts for another season. “Of course, it’s the greatest show on television!” Zamparelli enthused. “It’s the greatest show to be part of. There’s no other show like it where you have that element of showbiz, because in reality, television isn’t glamorous.” She acknowledged the uncertainty of renewal, stating, “There’s no show like it, so we would love for it to come back and I love to know, but these things are always very last minute, unfortunately. And we always just have to wait and see.”

Missing the Glamour and the People

When asked what they would miss most about “Dancing with the Stars,” Doireann focused on the show’s aesthetic appeal.”I always feel like after dancing with Stars, no matter how hard I try to dress myself up, I look like a toe, so I will definitely miss the hair and makeup every weekend,” she laughed. She also admitted to looking forward to her weekends, of course adding, “Of course you miss the glamour and the camaraderie of it as well.It’s such an amazing behind the scenes show as well as on screen. There’s so much craic behind the scenes.”

Zamparelli echoed this sentiment. “I’ll miss the people as we don’t see them then for a long time,” she agreed. “The people, the craic, that’s what I’ll miss most of all.”

Looking Ahead

the eighth season of “Dancing with the Stars” may be over, but the memories and experiences shared by the hosts and contestants will undoubtedly last a lifetime. The future of the show remains uncertain, but fans can hold onto hope that Zamparelli and Garrihy will grace their screens once again.

What was your favorite moment from this past season,let us know in the comments below.