Dancing With The Stars pro Denys Samson to miss show after catching Covid

The Ukrainian professional dancer will have to skip out on this week’s routine but is hoping to be back on the floor next week.

His partner, singer Erica Cody, will perform instead with Ervinas Merfeldas, who was paired up with influencer Missy Keating before she was eliminated from the competition last month.

RTÉ confirmed the news in a statement, which read: “Professional dancer Denys Samson will be absent from Dancing with the Stars this Sunday, March 6th, as he has tested positive for Covid 19.”

“All being well, Denys will return next weekend. Erica Cody will dance with Ervinas Merfeldas this Sunday.”

It comes after Denys admitted he is “really scared” for his family in Ukraine.

“My country is suffering. People are dying,” he told Jennifer Zamparelli on her RTÉ 2fm show.

“There’s not enough food, the shops are closed. The military is suffering from the guns and bullets. It’s a real war. It’s reality.

“All the people in Ukraine want peace. We’re protecting ourselves. We don’t want this war. I hope it will [be over] really soon.

He added that he’s “really scared” for his mum and aunt, who are living just outside Odessa but can’t flee the country.

“They’re alive. [I can’t say] they’re doing good or they’re happy,” he said.

“They’re in the countryside about 30km from Odessa, but there’s another port city like 10 minutes away from their house. [Russians] attacked two ports to take them over.

“So, they’re sitting together, only the two of them at home. They can hear everything that’s happening over there. The windows are shaking from the bombs.

“If they want to cross the border, it’s really dangerous because they need to cross to pass Kyiv, they need to cross the whole country to get there. I don’t want this at the moment.

“I'm really scared for their life (sic),” he added.