Kildare's Aishah Akorede to be first celebrity on new series of 'Dancing with the Stars'

Leixlip native, model and former Miss Universe Ireland Aishah Akorede has been revealed as the first celebrity who will take to the dancefloor for the eighth series of Dancing with the Stars.

The popular series returns to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player in January 2025. 

Aishah was crowned Miss Universe Ireland in 2023 and holds a Master of Laws in International Corporate Governance from Queen's University, Belfast. She is currently pursuing a qualification in Chartered Governance. 

On joining the cast of Dancing with the Stars, Aishah commented: “I’m mostly excited about learning how to dance like a ballroom dancer, to be honest. I did a little bit of ballet growing up, but it's nothing compared to any of this...

"I did ballet from the age of four to fifteen, but I had to stop. I'm like a footballer that just never got to go professional because of a knee injury. But during the pandemic, I ended up going back to ballet at the age of 24. I'm 25 now and I'm the old lady in the class, which is crazy to say that a 25-year-old is an old lady!” 

She continued: “I'm not a very competitive person, and people always think that girls in pageantry are really competitive. Everything I do in life, I kind of do with no expectations and with the aim of just enjoying the experience and whatever comes out of it. So hopefully I do come out on top, but even if I don't, I'll just genuinely be so grateful for the opportunity.” 

Aishah is no stranger to television. In 2022 she appeared in and won the Discovery+ series, Beauty and the Geek UK alongside her ‘geek’-teammate, Martin.

Following her Miss Universe Ireland win, Aishah founded ‘Recrowned Ireland’, a non-profit social justice initiative that strives to make a lasting impact on key societal concerns.

The organisation aims to create a safe space for women in Ireland who have suffered various forms of abuse, to feel comfortable, confident and aware. 

Dancing with the Stars will be hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy again this season. The two-time Dancing with the Stars winner and professional dancer Karen Byrne will join the judging panel in 2025 alongside longstanding judges Loraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Arthur Gourounlian. 

Aishah was live in studio on Monday morning on 2FM’s The Laura Fox Show at 10.30am on Monday December 9. The ten remaining celebrity contestants joining the new series of Dancing with the Stars will be announced each day this week.