A great addition to the show

Arguably the best episode of the series the date, 'Dancing with the Stars' viewers were last night treated to the addition of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra to proceedings and they went down a treat.

The show opened with the orchestra's spectacular rendition of David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ as all the celebrities and their partners took to the dance floor.

First up was broadcaster Mairéad Ronan and her partner John Nolan who danced a lively samba to Barry Manilow’s ‘Copacabana’. Mairead scored a total of 21 from the judges.

All-Ireland winner Denis Bastick and his partner Valeria Milova took to the floor with a beautiful foxtrot to Adele's hit ballad 'Someone Like You'. Denis scored a total of 23 from the judges.

It was an energetic Pasodoble for actor Clelia Murphy and her partner Vitali Kozmin this week as they danced to ‘Funiculi, Funiculá' by Ricordi. Clelia scored a total of 25 from the judges.

Rugby legend Peter Stringer and his partner Ksenia Zsikhotska danced an American Smooth to Frank Sinatra's ‘New York, New York. Peter scored 20 from the judges.

Actor Johnny Ward and partner Emily Barker took to the floor with a tango to ‘Viva La Vida’ by Coldplay, and scored 29 from the judges.

It was country singer Cliona Hagan who impressed the judges the most, scoring full marks with 30 points for her waltz with pro-dancer Robert Rowinski to ‘A time for us’ by Nino Rota.

Finally, Fred Cooke dusted himself off after being in the dance-off last week and performed a jive with his partner Giulia Dotta to ‘I’m still standing’ by Elton John. Fred scored a total of 24 from the judges.

It was Clelia and Peter who unfortunately ended up in the bottom two this week, with Peter Stringer ultimately saying his goodbyes.

The dancing was undoubtedly great last night but it was the RTÉ Concert Orchestra - conducted by Gavin Murphy and joined by singers Gary Harpur and Gemma Sugrue - that impressed the most.