Offaly's Ms Ireland winner tipped for Dancing with the Stars

Cleo Knight, who represented Offaly when she was crowned the winner of the Ms Ireland competition last weekend, is now being tipped by the bookies as a potential upcoming contestant on RTÉ's Dancing with the Stars.

The bookmakers Ladbrokes was this week offering odds of 2/1 that the Portarlington woman would be selected as a Dancing with the Stars entrant after she was given the much sought-after Ms Ireland sash and crown last Saturday night at the national final in Newry.

Commenting on the speculation, Cleo said it was something she didn't expect, and that it felt "a bit surreal".

"Taking part in something like Dancing with the Stars would be an incredible experience. What excites me most is the potential platform it could give to my campaign, Further Than You Think," she said.

"Winning Ms Ireland has already given me a wonderful opportunity to share that message, but I'd absolutely love to take it further."

Further Than You Think is an education campaign spearheaded by Cleo which aims to give hope to students who haven't scored as well as they would have liked in their exams.

It was inspired by her own experience of attaining fewer than 100 Leaving Cert points but yet going on to become a college lecturer in Dublin.

"Nothing is confirmed regarding Dancing with the Stars, but seeing my name mentioned has certainly made me think about what a bigger national platform could mean for Further Than You Think and the people it might reach," Cleo added.

If she is selected for Dancing with the Stars it would be the latest Offaly link with the show after Tullamore Rugby Sevens star Jordan Conroy was a runner-up in 2022.

Earlier this year, Tullamore singer Tolü Makay appeared on the show and also made it to the final.