The first Irish celebrity rumoured to take part in Dancing With The Stars

And so it begins...

The speculation and guessing has already begun for the next series of Dancing With The Stars, with the first celebrity rumoured to have signed up. All eyes are on Fair City's Clelia Murphy after she announced that she would be leaving the show after 22 years. Having played the popular character Niamh, Clelia apparently wants to explore new opportunities. Could one of these be dancing? When RTE was contacted by The Irish Mirror about the possibility of her taking part they didn't deny it, but they also didn't confirm it. They just said, "We understand she’s leaving Fair City to take up another opportunity. On Dancing With The Stars, we’re not confirming the line-up yet." When the of her departure was revealed, RTÉ released the following statement:

"Fair City can confirm that Clelia Murphy has decided to exit the soap for the foreseeable future with her character Niamh Brennan's exiting storyline playing out on screen next month. Clelia has just completed the scenes for her character's departure with a surprise twist in store for Paul."