COMEDIANS Pat and Faye Shortt have revealed how they were once asked to compete on Dancing With The Stars — as a couple.
The unusual pairing has already been tried on TV in Australia with father-daughter DWTS routines now all the rage on TikTok.
Quizzed if they had ever been asked to dance on the show, Faye told The Irish Sun: “Dancing With The Stars? It’s funny we have been approached to do it together.”
Pat added: “I think they wanted us to dance together — I think it was done in Australia?”
Faye said: “There was a show in Oz where they were trying to copy the format and put two celebs together rather than putting them with a professional.
“We wouldn’t have had a hope because you’d need a professional with you to do the dancing.”
But the father-daughter pairing never even made it to the audition stage as Pat and Faye had already booked their Knuckle Down tour around Ireland, the dates of which conflicted with Dancing With The Stars on RTE.
Faye said: “When we examined our diary, it just wouldn’t have worked with us as we had booked in our Knuckle Down shows.
“You’d need to take a lot time off work to do DWTS and it would be physically gruelling each week.”
And Pat said: “The run of DWTS is the busiest time of the year for us touring.
“I know how gruelling it is. But I have huge respect for everyone who does the show because it’s so physically gruelling and you can see the weight falling off them.
“I know what it’s like and I don’t know if I’d put myself through it.”
Daughter Faye wouldn’t rule out doing DWTS on her own in the future, with fellow comedians Neil Delamere, Fred Cooke, Deirdre O’Kane, and this season, Gearoid Farrelly all giving it a crack.
Even if they are not dancing together, Faye said she had no problem touring comedy venues with her dad.
She joked: “He can be a pain in the rear end, but 85 per cent of the time we get on because we have the same humour and find things funny.
“We are on the same wavelength.
“Dad has been doing it for years so I have learnt so much from working with him.
‘QUITE SCARY TO PICTURE’
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to start out in this industry by myself. It seems quite scary to picture that.
“But I’m sure there will come a time when I do have to go out on my own.”
Pat added: “It’s a great way to earn a living being on the road with your daughter.
“We are having a blast. You’d be surprised at how women outnumber men in theatres and Faye cracks them up with her material.
“Her voice is really coming through and I couldn’t be happier.”
GLITTERBALL STARS – ALL THE DWTS WINNERS
SERIES ONE – 2017: Former Kerry footballer Aidan O’Mahony beat the odds to be crowned Ireland’s first-ever Dancing With The Stars champion alongside pro partner Valeria Milova, beating out former Fair City star Aoibhin Garrihy and Red Rock actress Denise McCormack.
SERIES TWO – 2018: Singer Jake Carter – the younger brother of country crooner Nathan – was just 19 when he nabbed the Glitterball in 2018 with pro dancer Karen Byrne. And the dance partnership later blossomed into love for the popular pair, who confirmed they were dating months after their big win.
SERIES THREE – 2019: Popular presenter Mairead Ronan became the first female winner, landing the Glitterball with Kilkenny dancer John Nolan in 2019. The mum-of-three said her victory was proof “you can do anything you put your mind to”.
SERIES FOUR – 2020: The 2020 series finale was brought forward due to the outbreak of Covid-19, with 2FM star Lottie Ryan left in tears at clinching the trophy with pro partner Pasquale La Rocca.
SERIES FIVE – 2022: Returning to screens in 2022 after a year off in 2021 due to the continuing coronavirus crisis, ex-jockey Nina Carberry became the third woman on the trot to win the Glitterball, marking a second title for pro Pasquale.
SERIES SIX – 2023: RTE 2FM star Carl Mullan was left stunned back in 2023 when he lifted the Glitterball with pro Emily Barker. The underdog came out on top against fellow finalists Brooke Scullion, Suzanne Jackson and Damien McGinty.
SERIES SEVEN – 2024: Paralympian Jason Smyth came out on top as the 2024 series winner, with pro Karen Byrne becoming the second dancer to win the DWTS title twice. The legally blind athlete moved viewers to tears with an emotional showdance to secure the title.
Stand-out characters in their Knuckle Down show include Pat’s hapless builder Michael who seems to have the answer to all things that are wrong in the world and shares the advice gifted to him by his late gran from Tipperary.
Another character is Faye’s “mother of the child” at the school waiting to pick up her child PJ.
Pat and Faye bring their Knuckle Down tour to Cork this Friday, Newbridge on Saturday, and Ballina next week, ahead of two dates in the Olympia in Dublin on March 20 and 21.
Gearoid Farrelly was recently axed from the show[/caption]
Deirdre O’Kane was on DWTS in 2018[/caption]
