Brooke Scullion: 'Lifting the glitter ball would be the icing on top of a very large, very time consuming cake'
Singer Brooke Scullion with her Dance Partner Robert Rowinski during Dancing With The Stars Series 6. Picture: Kyran O’Brien/kobpix
Watching Brooke Scullion dance week after week on has been one of the highlights of the sixth iteration of the RTÉ series, which will conclude Sunday.
"Lifting the glitter ball would be the icing on top of a very large, very time-consuming cake," Scullion laughs down the phone. I am catching her mid-rehearsal with dance partner Robert Rowinski, who she says she has "cried laughing" with throughout eight-hour training days.
The 23-year-old Derry native has been a favourite to win since week one, often scoring perfect 10s from the judges, but after recently finding herself in the dance-off, how does she feel about chances on Sunday night?
"Lottie Ryan was in the dance-off three times, then she won it," says the singer, adding that she feels "lucky" she found herself in the bottom two the week before last.
"People realised that I did need the support and they really pulled together and supported me last week."
The experience also served as an important "learning curve" she says.
"I was ugly snot crying behind the stage before I danced. That was a valuable experience in how to compose yourself in those situations".
This weekend, the couples will be performing two dances - a previous dance chosen by the judges, and a show dance - their last-ditch effort to convince viewers at home they deserve to lift the glitterball.
Scullion has been given her paso doble danced to the theme tune of in week four to perfect for Sunday's show, and her show dance will be "a mix of salsa and everything else" to Dua Lipa's Hallucinate.
"We've obviously evolved the paso double a lot since week four, and we can really show the improvement that we have for that dance, which is really cool," she says.
Looking ahead to her plans following , Ireland's 2022 Eurovision entry tells me there will be "no rest".
"As soon as this show is over. I'll be doing interviews Monday, [moving out] of my apartment Tuesday, I fly to Australia on Wednesday for a month-long tour around Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
"So there will be no rest," she says. "I don't like sitting idle".
- Brooke Scullion is a singer and a contestant in finale which airs Sundays on RTÉ One at 6:30pm.
' rehearsal schedule is so rigorous that it’s saving me a fortune on the gym. I love it - dancing is an amazing workout but Robert and I have also got into a good routine of eating well and training in the gym after rehearsal.
The first thing when I get up is to shower, stick the tunes on and do my skincare. You can't control your skin [on the show] - it's tan and make-up every day. I've never worn this much make-up in my life. The oil capsules from Environ have been my hero skincare product throughout the series.
I used to be a vegetarian, so I would’ve eaten very clean, cooked meals myself or my Mum would’ve kindly made different meals for me. But over the summer I got into training and found it hard to get my protein in, so I went back to eating meat. Luckily, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.
My downfall is TikTok or IG Reels - I’m that girl who will be sending you TikTok’s at all hours of the night.
Very little - I can sleep anywhere which I don’t take for granted. My friends or dancers who I travel with are usually pretty jealous of that skill.
Recently I have been treating myself to massages. I also love to read.
I do gymnastics in my free time and love watching high-risk sports. I’ve been watching on Netflix, and the work those guys do is pretty incredible.
Right now, it's Diamonds by Armani. I've been wearing it on the show every week.
Recently in rehearsals, but not from pain - from laughing. Robert and I have such a laugh.
I hate falseness.
I’m very self-critical. I’m learning to get better but it’s hard being a performer.
FaceTiming my family and friends - I like to think I’m independent, but really I love being around people.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Dolly Parton - the one and only - or Philomena Begley.
'Remember you’re not one of a million, you’re one in a million' - Meghan Trainor told me that, l love that woman.
