Carl Mullan and Emily Barker won the dancing competition
The current series of 'Dancing with the Stars' came to an end last night, when 2FM DJ Carl Mullan and his professional dance partner Emily Barker were crowned winners.
Mullan triumphed in a close-run final that saw Derry's Brooke Scullion - a favourite from the first show - place as one of the runners-up.
The other finalists were Suzanne Jackson and Damian McGinty, but Mullan and Barker wowed both the judges and the public with their routines - which included dancing the Paso Doble to U2's 'Beautiful Day'.
An emotional Mullan said "Thank you everybody that voted for us... I want to thank everyone who has supported us on the street and online.
"I’m so buzzing. I’m so happy we have won it for you, Emily Barker. You deserve this so much."
The online reaction wasn't quite as upbeat, with many paying tribute to the DJ's progress but claiming that the best dancer did not win.
Even Carl himself won’t agree that was fair!
— Dorothy Molloy 🇮🇪✍️📜😊 (@1dor) March 19, 2023
Well done to Carl and Emily but they were not the best dancers. Most popular? Yes
— Clare (@goody2shus) March 19, 2023
Delighted for Carl. Lovely chap. However I’d have given him award for certainly best improved. Which leads me to believe it’s a popularity competition more so than dance
— jacqui (@jacqui64543604) March 19, 2023
Feel like I’ve wasted a load of Sunday nights watching this show. Absolutely no way was this a fair result . Something very dodgy here. A 2FM presenter who was one of the weakest dancers all the way through wins the show. 😳 Ok RTE how does the voting work 🤔, please enlighten us
— maria (@5lynch5) March 19, 2023
Nevertheless, when all is said and done the public voted the duo as winners - so congrats to Carl and Emily!