There was an extra bit of magic on the Dancing with the Stars set this week as one former celebrity dancer returned to the studio to pop the question
It was all go on the set of Dancing with the Stars this week as five celebrities battled it out for a place in the final in this week's Fright Night-themed semi-final — and one judge got engaged!
Jake Carter, who previously competed on the show with professional dancer turned judge Karen Byrne, surprised his now-fiancee during filming for this week's show by popping the question.
And there were plenty of other magic moments – including two perfect scores for our Olympian celebrities.
But the dream ended for former Miss Universe Ireland Aishah Akorede who was knocked out in the final dance-off of the season.
Her foxtrot to ‘Black Magic’ by Little Mix had received 35 from the judges earlier in the night.
As she left the competition, Akorede said, "honestly? I feel proud of myself. I genuinely thought I'd be out first, so to make it to the semi-final.. I am so proud of myself".
The pageant queen has used her stint on the show to raise awareness of living with sickle cell disease and said she wanted to take the opportunity once more to encourage people to "be aware of what it is".
"I hope people can look at my journey and know no matter what you are going through, you can pick yourself up," she said.
Akorede had faced Taekwondo athlete Jack Woolley in the dance-off who was rewarded with a perfect 40 earlier in the night for his otherworldly, alien-inspired salsa to Red Alert by Basement Jaxx.
“Every move was electric, I utterly loved it,” Judge Arthur Gourounlian said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone do a salsa with that many lifts,” judge Brian Redmond commented, while judge Karen Byrne said she was on “the edge of [her] seat” throughout.
Gymnast, Rhys McClenaghan, also scored a perfect 40 on Sunday night. Having missed out on that perfect score multiple times this season with judge Redmond holding back, there was a moment of tension when he was the only judge not standing following McClenaghan’s Paso Doble to 'O Fortuna' by Hidden Citizens.
But when presenter Jennifer Zamparelli turned to him for comment, he had one word, “exceptional".
Gourounlian gave his famous “J’ADORE!,” while judge Byrne said it “was one of the best dances I’ve ever seen on this show.”
The remaining two finalists both scored 35 points in this weekend's semi-final.
Danny O’Carroll - whose dad Brendan flew home to cheer him on – did a fiesty tango to ‘Poison’ by Alice Cooper.
“You don’t make a final by taking the easy choice – and you didn’t,” judge Redmond commented. “A fabulous way to fight for a place in the final.”
Content creator Kayleigh Trappe also did a tango with Byrne commending her for "attacking it”.
