Giulia Dotta was one of the original 11 pros on the Irish version of Dancing With The Stars when the show launched in January 2017.
The Italian dancer was a huge hit with viewers during her four season run on the RTÉ show before her shock exit in November 2021.
Powered by 
While competing for the glitterball trophy she was in a relationship with her fellow pro Kai Widdrington, who is now on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
Read more: Dancing With The Stars' Vitali and Valeria's life since leaving show - three kids and new business
Read more: Dancing With The Stars' John Nolan now - Hollywood movie and real reason he quit
Giulia was paired with comedian Des Bishop in season one before being partnered with former Ireland and Munster rugby star Tomás O'Leary the following year.
It wasn't until the third season that she had her first taste of success and she and another comedian, Fred Cooke, danced their way into the semi-final of the competition.
Her most memorable partnership was with Fair City actor Ryan Andrews on series four. The couple racked up massive scores week after week and were regularly praised by judges Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry and Julian Benson.
On their way to the final, they scored 10s for their Jive on movie week, their Contemporary Ballroom on Orchestra Week and their Charleston to The Muppet Show theme, as well as their American Smooth to "I Get a Kick Out of You" and Samba to "Lo-Lo Dzama" in the final.
Just seven months later Giulia revealed that she was leaving Dancing With The Stars.
She told RSVP Live: "I am not gonna be back on season 5 of Dancing with the Stars Ireland.
"It makes me deeply sad, the past two years have been a mix of up and downs of emotions and so many things have changed for everyone."
Giulia added: "I have decided, after 10 years of touring and TV shows, to settle down in Italy, where I can take care of my dance studio and help out my family in these (still) uncertain times."
While on Dancing With The Stars, Giulia was in a relationship with current Strictly Come Dancing pro Kai Widdrington. He dismissed rumours of a "Strictly Curse" as he revealed the break up before his show debut in September 2021.
Kai told OK! Magazine at the time: "I'm single, that's it. That's all that you need to know.
"I've been single for 10 months, so there's no Strictly curse surrounding me, that's for sure."
Since returning to Italy and leaving Dancing With The Stars, Giulia made the decision to focus on her competitive dance career, leaving behind the worlds of TV, entertainment and touring.
She competes alongside dancer Lorenzo Tellini. The pair are the current Italian champions, winning the coveted title last month. And they were finalists in the World Cup last year.
After the big win, Giulia said: "4 years after this choice. Between ups and downs, sacrifices, a lot of work and commitment, we have reached a wonderful goal."
Dancing With The Stars continues every Sunday night on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 6.30pm
