RTE has announced that Dancing with the Stars Ireland will not go ahead next year due to Covid-19.

It is hoped that the popular celebrity dance series will be back in 2022.

Donegal nurse and model Grainne Gallanagh was a runner up in the 2020 series.

In a statement, RTE’s Head of Entertainment John McHugh said the risks were too high to proceed with next year’s show.

He said: “We are extremely disappointed not to be in a position to produce series five of Dancing with the Stars in 2021. After much discussion, we feel the risks are too high with a production of this scale to proceed with the series in 2021 and we hope to revisit the show in 2022.”

“We understand that the many fans of the series will be disappointed with this decision. However, given the unprecedented challenges posed by Covid-19 and our duty of care, we believe this decision is the right one. We will continue to work with Larry Bass and ShinAwiL on other projects and will be conducting ongoing discussions with them and the BBC to try and bring back Dancing with the Stars in 2022.”

RTÉ will announce a full autumn schedule of programming and content across television, radio and online services in the coming weeks.