BATTLE FOR THE NATION’S HEARTS

From the judges to the contestants, the weepy stories to the spinoff shows: as Ireland’s Got Talent squares up to Dancing With the Stars, who wins the biggest light entertainment war Ireland has ever seen?

THERE’S a grand stretch in the evenings, certainly, but a hefty dose of weekend glitz and glamour still goes a long way towards brightening up those dreary winter months. And two reality behemoths are pulling out all the stops as they duke it out for supremacy.

In one corner, Dancing With The Stars is enjoying its sophomore airing on RTÉ One. Boosted by the success of last year’s maiden voyage — not to mention its behemoth UK equivalent Strictly — the stakes have been raised considerably. A new raft of stars are taking to the dancefloor in a bid to waltz away with the coveted glitterball trophy — and bragging rights in the RTÉ canteen.

In the other corner, meanwhile, is a relative newcomer to Irish screens. Just one episode in, Ireland’s Got Talent has already got the nation talking. With our long-held tradition of local talent jamborees, Ireland is the perfect nation for Simon Cowell’s TV juggernaut. We Irish are even more tribal than our British counterparts, and there’s always a chance you’ll see your old geography teacher juggling saucepans.

Dancing with the Stars was the highest rated entertainment show on television last week, attracting an average viewership of 526,100 for the entire two hours, an audience share of 37% and a reach of over 1.3 million.

Ireland’s Got Talent also proved a ratings hit, but lagged slightly behind the dance competition with an average of 469,000 viewers watching the first episode.

But which of the two is giving us better bang for our light entertainment buck? Which of the weekend TV giants looks set to last the distance and win over the collective hearts of the nation?

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