THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER of Dancing With The Stars has launched an attack on the Government for the lack of supports put in place to help those who work in the arts.

Larry Bass, who is also the CEO of ShinAwiL productions, said he was devastated that his firm was not in a position to bring back Dancing with the Stars in January 2021.

He said that the safety and welfare of the crews and celebrities is its main priority and that the firm had worked closely with RTÉ and BBC Studios over the past three months to “explore the feasibility of producing the show in a safe environment”.

In a statement this afternoon, Bass said the burdens and uncertainty that comes with the loss of jobs and incomes is something that “deeply affects us all”.

“Some of our suppliers are small businesses that rely on one or two major contracts per year to survive as do we. The future is now incredibly uncertain for us all and our families. I appeal to our government to take seriously the value of our fantastic creative industries that are now suffering not from a virus, but from lack of correct support or any certainty about the future.

“The financial and mental welfare of tens of thousands of creative professionals may flood our health and welfare state more than any virus could if no action is taken,” Bass said.

He added:

When will we ever learn to value our culture in this country properly?

On Wednesday, RTÉ announced that Dancing With The Stars has been cancelled for 2021, due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.

RTÉ’s Head of Entertainment John McHugh said that he was “extremely disappointed” that Dancing With The Stars cannot be produced due to the risks created by the coronavirus pandemic.

“After much discussion, we feel the risks are too high with a production of this scale to proceed with the series in 2021 and we hope to revisit the show in 2022,” said McHugh.

Bass, concluding his statement, urged the nation to think of the thousands of out of work professionals “who only want to fill your world with food for the heart and mind. Support the live entertainment world please”.

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