Erica Cody worried about Ukrainian DWTS partner Denys Samson after 'overwhelming' month

The singer has been competing on the RTÉ show with Denys, who is originally from Odesa in Ukraine, since January.

Denys was forced to miss out on last week’s show as he was isolating with Covid, and Erica admitted that she was really worried because she couldn’t support him as his home country continues to be invaded by Russian forces.

“His family and friends are still in Ukraine. It’s hard to fathom what he’s going through emotionally being away from home with everything that’s going on. It’s been having an impact on him over the last couple of weeks, as you can probably imagine,” the Dubliner explained.

“[When] he had Covid, I was worried about him being at home all the time and being open to seeing everything that was happening and unfolding back home.

“He was at home and he wasn’t able to go out anywhere. He didn’t have dance. He had to stay at home. All he had was his phone and the news.”

She said that she’s trying her best to help him out as much as she can.

“I’m just trying to keep the spirits high by giving him as much love and support as I can as his partner,” she said.

“It’s really nice to have him back in the studio. I feel like dancing away is nearly a form of escapism for him to get away from it all.

“I’m so happy to have him back. I missed him so much last week. He’s back and he’s feeling much better, health-wise, which is great.”

Erica added that the support Denys has received from people over the past few weeks has been "quite overwhelming.”

She said: “He’s totally besotted and totally overwhelmed. He’s so grateful for all the support.

“It’s quite overwhelming, even just as his partner, to see the amount of love and support he’s getting.

“The support from everyone - from the cast and the crew and production, even people online, everyone – it's just been endless. I think in times like this, the Irish people really know how to come together and give support when it’s needed.”