Damian McGinty, Brooke Scullion and Derry Girls' Leah O'Rourke among favourites to win RTÉ's Dancing With the Stars

The trio with connections to Derry are among the top five, according to bookmakers BoyleSPorts as they revealed their odds on who will emerge as the winner.

The show gets under way this Sunday, January 8 at at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and it has been confirmed that there will be 11 celebrities paired with professional dancers for the sixth series of the show.

Each pairing will have a different dancing genre to master every week, from the Charleston to hip hop, and they’ll have just seven days to perfect their routine before performing live to the nation.

The dancing couples will be scored by an expert panel of judges and the viewing public at home, with the winning couple claiming the glitter ball trophy at the end of the series.

Before they even set foot on the dance floor, BoyleSports had Derry singer-songwriter and former Celtic Thunder and Glee star Damian McGinty as third favourite behind Republic of Ireland international Stephanie Roche on 3/1 and Panti Bliss, aka Rory O'Neill, on 7/2.

It’s tight at the top with Derry Girls’ star Leah O’Rourke, who played Jenny Joyce in the hit Channel 4 show penned by Lisa McGee, on 6/1 followed by County Derry singer-songwriter and Ireland’s Eurovision 2022 entrant Brooke Scullion on 7/1.

Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports said: "Irish punters are really hoping to hit the target with Stephanie Roche and they are showing strong early confidence that her fancy footwork will help add to an already glittering CV. We'll have a close eye on Panti Bliss who is also attracting early support, while Derry Girls actress Leah O'Rourke and real-life Derry girl Brooke Scullion are also being well backed to get right in the mix."

The BoyleSports odds for each of the celebrities to become the Dancing With The Stars Winner are: 3/1 Stephanie Roche; 7/2 Panti Bliss; 5/1 Damian McGinty; 6/1 Leah O’Rourke; 7/1 Brooke Scullion; 8/1 Suzanne Jackson; 8/1 Kevin McGahern; 12/1 Dr Marie Cassidy; 12/1 Carl Mullan; 14/1 Paul Brogan and18/1 Shane Byrne.