Mickey Joe Harte defends RTE spend on Dancing With The Stars

On Sunday night, the talented crooner makes his dancing debut with his pro dance partner Daniela Roze.

By: irishmirror.ie

Jan 04 2025
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Mickey Joe Harte defends RTE s

Dancing With The Stars hopeful Mickey Joe Harte has said he has worked “damn hard” for his success as he is set to make his dancing debut on Dancing With The Stars.

And the Donegal native also defended RTE investing millions of taxpayers money into the RTE One show.

Mickey won RTE's previous flagship show, You’re A Star, 21 years ago before going on to qualify in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 with We’ve Got The World.

Speaking about his success over the years, he said he cannot dictate what people might think of him taking on another RTE flagship show.

“You're always going to have that element. But you can't love your life like that. I can't dictate what other people want to think of me or whatever.

“I can only, I can only control the controllables. I'm happy. I'm a working musician. I've managed to make my living out of this business for 35 years, believe it or not.

“'You’re A Star' was one of the elements and Eurovision gave me a boost along the way, but I've managed to carve and worked hard since that.

“So this is another element of that. So, you know, I don't make any apologies for that, because I know I work damn hard for what I do when I get it.”

Mickey said Dancing With The Stars deserves a place on the TV schedule every year as the show gives employment to so many people.

He said: “I do think it is, and by all accounts, I think it's something that they recoup (the money) through sponsorship and advertising so I think it's something that probably evens itself out.

“We need these kinds of shows. I know there's not that many of these shows. Actually, there's probably only one show. There's probably only maybe one company, or, you know, a few companies in this country that could do that, and they bring in expertise, and it creates a huge amount… there's 150 people employed on this show.

“That filters down into, you know, I know what it is like as a musician with gigs and stuff.

“These things are important to keep going in between the big films and all the things that happen in Ireland, you know, if you don't have companies like, you know, RTE and so forth, you know, to nurture that thing.

“And if you don’t do a show like this how do you get Irish people the experience, you know, besides them having to leave the country. So I'm very positive about it.

“When you see it in action, and when you see the amount of employment that it creates and the amount of skills that it gives to people coming up.

“I work with some of the people in euros, and now they were maybe production runners, 21 years ago, and now they are executive producers.

“So that process of people coming through would not have happened if it was not for the funding of RTE and those programs and all these things so on the TV license and all that.

“So it is hugely important to give people experience, besides that, if we keep chipping away at the industry and sort of just do stuff that we think is cooler and not funding it properly, or giving these big productions where you learn, these guys learn very high tech, very high skilled things on the show that they wouldn't learn on other shows.

“And it's as simple as that. They can bring that anywhere in the world. And it also attracts people in. Film people who come out here and make films, or whatever it is, they ‘We've got a good industry. There's a great source, there's a great ball pool of expertise there in Ireland.”

On Sunday night, the talented crooner makes his dancing debut with his pro dance partner Daniela Roze.

They’ll take on the paso doble to Teenage Kicks by The Undertones.

Mickey said that although his mother “loves the show”, she’s “not pushed” about being in the audience on Sunday nights.

“My mother loves the show, and she still dances herself. She's 84 and she still dances.

“So yeah, she was excited. You know, she's nervous. And I spoke to her last night, actually, and she was, yeah, very nervous.’ Kill it for me’ and stuff.

“I had her at a show a few years ago where they used ‘We’ve Got The World’ and someone danced to that.

“And to be honest, she enjoyed the experience, but she much preferred being at home and really seeing it all. It's weird. She said she didn't see as much in the studio, so she's not pushed about coming to the studio.

“We only get four tickets, so it's at least one less problem for me to solve.”

Mickey Joe said he was less nervous representing Ireland in the Eurovision on a massive stage than he will be dancing on a ballroom floor on Sunday night.

“I had a bit of an idea of what I was doing, you know. So by the time You're A Star and all that was finished, we had a long process of being in front of the cameras and all this thing.

“So when I got there, it was nerve wracking, Eurovision.

“But this is a different type of nerves. It's just something that never had to deal with, I’m completely out of your comfort zone, as are all of the contestants, really, so, but yeah, this is a different kind of anxiety, more than nerves.

“You know, it's weird, because if you're dealing with the unknown, you know, if it was music based, and you were going around and doing something that you had to be in a certain place and do your steps and maybe play music, and that would be different, but to just to go out and dance, it's a completely different thing.

“You're using a different part of your brain, I’ve noticed, and obviously a part of your body and mind that you never had to access before.

“So it's a completely different thing, and it's the same for everybody. But yeah, this is, yeah, a different level of anxiety. Sleep levels aren't great at the minute, to be honest.”

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