‘I wasn’t doing it for me’ – Katja Mia inspired by online support during ‘DWTS’ run

Mia said the support she received in the aftermath of the comment, including from judge Loraine Fox, drover her to get as far as the quarterfinal stage.

"I wasn’t doing it for me. I was doing it for everyone else that had sent a message and said that they felt just like that at a certain point in their lifetime,” Mia said.

"I was representing a massive cohort in Ireland of women that are curvy. 12, 14, 16 are such common sizes here in this country but we don’t see it enough in the media.”

Mia, seen as one of the favourites to win the competition, scored a near-perfect 28 out of 30 from the judges but still found herself up against Blu Hydrangea in the dance-off.

"It’s hard to say if it was fair or not, it’s totally up to the judges. I know that we both put in our best work, especially this week. We got our first 10 this week.

"I knew straight away it was going to be a tough dance-off, it wasn’t for me to say if it was fair, totally up to the judges. I respect what they had to say, the scores that they gave and I can only be happy to have made it this far.”

Both Mia and her professional dance partner Ervinas Merfeldas called the middle of the leaderboard “the danger zone” and that proved to be the case with the pair’s elimination.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 4th 2024

Mia hopes friend and RTÉ 2FM presenter Laura Fox goes on to lift the glitterball trophy.

"That’s my girl. We have such a special bond in there and we were the last two girls since last week. We’ve shared a dressing room since December.

"I honestly love her and her dedication to this entire competition has just been amazing to see, and to see her develop as well.

"She’s so deserving and she’s the bubbliest person alive. If I wanted to see anyone lift that glitterball it would be Laura.

A Virgin Media presenter who took to the Dancing with the Stars floor, Mia speculated on who else from the station could make the jump over to the RTÉ show.

"I’d love to see Zara King do it. I think she’d be class. They’re all so supportive, the whole Virgin Media team. Every Monday they’d be asking me ‘how was it?’, ‘what dance have you got this week.’

“Even Colette Fitzpatrick, we have the same time in the makeup room. She’s always asking me questions and her daughter loves the show as well. I think it was cool to see a Virgin head doing this show.

"They’ve all been supporting me to the end, I think they’re really proud.”

Dancing with the Stars continues on to the semifinal stage from 6.30pm on Sunday, March 10 on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player.