Former Miss Universe Ireland Aishah Akorede has signed up for season eight of Dancing with the Stars.
The model is the first person to be confirmed for the show. She will take to the dancefloor when the popular series returns to RTÉ in January 2025.
She 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.
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Aishah said: “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.
The rest of the Dancing with the Stars line-up will be announced this week.
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