Former Dublin footballer, not to mention five-time All Ireland winner Denis Bastick has been revealed as the seventh contestant for this year's Dancing With The Stars.

The star sat down with The Nicky Byrne Show on 2FM live to comment on why he swapped his football boots for some dancing shoes to try his hand at winning series three's glitterball;

“I really feel that this will be a great experience for me. It is completely different than anything I have ever done before. Since retiring from Dublin football I always wanted to try new things, I never imagined that this would be one of those things though!"

Commenting further on his career so far, Bastick said;

"Football has given me a huge sense of accomplishment and DWTS is now presenting me with a massive challenge and the opportunity to accomplish something that is in such contrast to what I’m used to."

The contestant also expressed his nerves at the idea of competing at such a high level of dancing, but he's got a whole team of support from his Dublin GAA fanbase.

Speaking about the standard of dance which is expected of the show's participants, Bastick said;

"I am slightly overwhelmed at the task in hand having seen what the dancers can do. They have amazing, athleticism, rhythm and coordination. I have probably one of those qualities so I will really need to put the work in!”

Denis will join Clelia Murphy, Mairead Ronan, Eilish O’Carroll, Darren Kennedy, Fred Cooke and Holly Carpenter on series three of the hit show.

Jennifer Zamparelli and Nicky Byrne are this year's official presenters, and the series will air on RTÉ One for 12 weeks from Sunday 6 January.

Dancing With The Stars has a grand total of 11 celebrities, who pair up with their professional dancing partners as they cross their boundaries and try an entirely new talent.

Stepping onto the dancefloor to compete for the much-coveted glitter ball trophy, each pair will have a different dancing genre to master every week. The duos will have just seven days to perfect their routine before performing live on national television. 

The expert panel of judges Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry and Julian Benson are returning again this year. The celebrities and their dancers will be scored by the judges and the viewing audiences at home.

The treats don't end there for viewers; Can’t Stop Dancing, the preview show hosted by Bláthnaid Treacy, will be back on our screens on Friday, 4 January on RTÉ One

All of the glitz, glamour and gossip that happens behind the scenes will be delved into. Get the low down from the judges, the professional dancers and the stars before the main action begins. 

We absolutely CANNOT WAIT for Sunday 6 January, get yourselves ready.