As RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars faces into the semi-finals, Suzanne Jackson said it’s “bloody amazing” to be the new favourite to win the show after scoring a perfect score last Sunday.

The 38-year-old influencer has had an eventful time on the show. She almost quit at one stage – and went to a hypnotherapist to help her overcome her nerves.

But last Sunday she and partner Michael Danilczuk performed a flawless rumba to the tune of Lana del Rey’s Young and Beautiful.

Jackson scored three 10s from the judges – the highest given to a rumba across all six seasons of the show.

The businesswoman said dancing to her wedding song gave her an added boost, having married husband Dylan O’Connor in her hometown of Skerries, Co Dublin, in August 2017.

“That really helped, because Michael’s been saying to me from the beginning, ‘You need to get lost in the music, you need to not remember the dance by the end.’”
During her time on the show, she has battled everything from bruised ribs to crippling anxiety – but now she feels she’s finally found her dancing feet.

“To have gotten this far, I’m super-happy and proud. The judges were repeatedly saying, ‘Let go, we need more emotion, we need more.’
The social media star, who has more than 600,000 followers across her platforms, says she had been “putting too much pressure on myself”.

She feels not overthinking her routine was a key part to improving her performance.

“Two weeks ago, I just clicked that it’s not the head that has to think of the steps. If you hammer it into the body enough, the head has to let go – and go with the music and the emotion.”
Suzanne said she felt she’d grown so much emotionally during her time on the show.
“I love a challenge. And that was the main reason why I took this on – but I’ve learned so much about myself that it’s mind-blowing. 

“I just didn’t think that I would have so much personal growth,” she said.

“Of course, everybody wants to win – but it’s anyone’s game. There’s a journey for every celeb out there – and everyone deserves to be here too. So it’s going to be a tough one from now on.”​