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RTÉ books major film studio for Dancing With The Stars stage

RTÉ can breath a sigh of relief, as they’ve nabbed an appropriate dance floor for the upcoming Irish version of Strictly.

Ardmore Studios will provide the set for RTÉ’s Dancing With the Stars, which is set to be hosted by Amanda Byram.

After show bosses realised that the RTÉ’s studios were far too small for the show’s huge production, they went on the hunt for an appropriate space.

According to The Irish Mail on Sunday, RTÉ have done some good by booking Ardmore Studios, based in Bray Co. Wicklow – as the studio is currently up for sale.

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Ardmore, which once hosted the cast and crew of Penny Dreadful, The Tudors and Braveheart, is up for sale amid increased competition for big budget films and TV shows.

Showbiz accountant Ossie Kilkenny and former U2 manager Paul McGuinness own two-thirds of the company, with Enterprise Ireland owning the remaining stake.

According to a financial source, RTÉ’s decision to book the studio for the much-anticipated dance show could make the 18-acre property more attractive for potential investors.

“There are not a lot of people out there looking to buy movie sets and lots. The fact that they now have an anchor tenant like Dancing with The Stars should help make it more attractive for investors,” the source told The Irish Mail on Sunday.

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“Plus Dancing With The Stars is a series, so they will be guaranteed repeat business as well as the prestige of hosting RTÉs new flagship entertainment programme. It is a major coup for Ardmore.”

Dancing With The Stars is set to air on RTÉ One on January 8, 2017.

The news comes after Ardmore Studios recently hosted Hollywood stars Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, while filming sequences for their upcoming film The Professor and the Madman.

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