Karen Byrne confessed that she felt nervous during her Dancing With The Stars judging debut on Sunday night and revealed that she approached show bosses about the new role.
Fans loved her critiques, but one comment about Mickey Joe Harte's stiff performance had people laughing her double entendre.
After his paso doble in leather trousers, she told him: “It was a bit stiff Mickey, but that could have been your trousers.”
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Karen told RSVP Live: "I genuinely didn’t realise what I had said. It was only afterwards that people pointed it out. It is unfortunate that his name is Mickey and, for me, there were parts of the dance that were stiff."
The pro dancer wanted a new challenge on Dancing With The Stars after her emotional journey with Paralympian Jason Smyth last year and winning the show in series two with her now boyfriend Jake Carter.
She said: "There were talks during the summer. I put it out there jokingly last year because I was nervous that I wouldn’t get that experience I had with Jason Smyth last season again.
"Winning the show for the second time, I was questioning what if I didn’t get that again.
"I felt that the chapter ended on such a high last year and I wanted to open a new one."
Karen felt nervous on Sunday night as she linked up with Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry and Arthur Gourounlian for the first time.
She said: "It is weird being on the other side of it. I know I love to talk, but having to condense your words down to a few seconds is very difficult. I struggled with that.
"I felt like their cheerleader sitting there. I would love to give them all 10s, if I’m being honest, but there is a journey so you can’t go out all guns blazing."
There was a massive outpouring of love for Karen when the news was first announced, but she is not afraid of getting negativity on the streets.
She said: "I was overwhelmed over the reaction to the news I was on the judging panel.
"I won the show twice and I didn’t feel love like I felt when it was announced that I was going to be a judge.
"People are always going to be honest when you meet them and I love a bit of honesty. If they love me, they love me. If they don’t, they don’t."
Karen was never told to change her Dublin accent by show bosses, and that is something she would never do.
She said: "I’m from Ballyfermot and I’m very proud of where I’m from.
"I talk with a very strong Dublin accent and I won’t change that for anyone. I love this show because they let me be me and they embrace who I am. The show never told me to change and I wouldn’t change for anyone."
Rhys McClenaghan and Laura Nolan topped the leaderboard with their salsa, but viewers believed they should have got higher than 31 from the four judges.
Karen explained: "If I could give everyone a 10, I’d give them a 10. That was a beautiful performance, but it is only week 1.
"I gave him an 8, I would have loved an 8 on week 1, I never got one."
Dancing With The Stars airs Sunday nights at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
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