MVW Talent Agency alumna and Love/Hate star Johnny Ward scores top points on 'Dancing With The Stars' as Kildare students feature on tv screens

By Kim O'Leary

It was a very busy and successful weekend for both past and present students of Maureen V Ward Talent Agency Ireland and Talented Kids Performing Arts School which hosts classes in Kilcullen, as many of its students featured on hit shows Dancing With The Stars Ireland, Fair City, and Resistance.

Fair City and Love/Hate star Johnny Ward, originally from Walkinstown in Dublin, is the brother-in-law of Maureen Ward the founder of Maureen V Ward Talent Agency Ireland and Talented Kids Performing Arts School, and the talented actor also has a strong link to Kildare having taught classes in Kilcullen.

Johnny and his dancing partner Emily Barker appeared on the new season of Dancing With The Stars Ireland 2019 on Sunday, 5 January , and the duo performed a lively jive to Johnny be Goode by Leif Garrett on the opening episode of the series.

Their performance was greatly praised by the judges Julian Benson, Lorraine Barry and Brian Redmond and Johnny and Emily got a whopping 22 points for their electric performance.

Speaking to KildareNow this week, respected talent coach Maureen Ward of Maureen V Ward Talent Agency said: “We’re very proud of Johnny, we were in the studio watching him perform. His dance partner Emily is amazing and the two of them were fantastic. Johnny also teaches classes in Kilcullen so he’s very well-known in the area, the kids love him. He’s a really versatile actor, he can do anything from a gangster in Love/Hate to a kidnapper in Fair City. Next up for him is Copper Face Jacks: The Musical where he is playing the lead, and he’s hilarious. He’s a great character.”

As Johnny hopes to continue wearing his dancing shoes for Dancing With The Stars, he will also play the lead in Copper Face Jacks: The Musical at the Olympia Theatre this July.

Meanwhile, several young actors from Kildare were featured on both the popular Fair City and new historic drama Resistance at the weekend.

Young actress Susie Power, 14, from Calverstown in Kilcullen has long been a student of MVW Talent Agency Ireland and she appeared on Fair City on Sunday in the prominent role of Eleanor ‘Ellie’Daly who has just made a shock return to Carrigstown with her mother Heather (Una Kavanagh).

The talented youngster has already enjoyed considerable TV acclaim lending her voice to the title character voice in CBBC/Jam Media’s ‘Little Roy’ which was nominated at the 2018 IFTA Gala TV Awards. Susie also plays Sylvia the Fox one of the lead characters in the new Nick Junior Animation ‘Beccas Bunch’ which airs in Ireland on Nickelodeon.

Meanwhile, talented youngsters Charlie Duffy, Zach Cooney and Ryan Keogh also featured on Fair City at the weekend, whilst brothers Dylan and Callum Heath appeared on RTE’s new historical drama Resistance.

“We’re very proud of them all, it’s great to see them doing so well and enjoying it too. . Talented Kids caters for kids aged from the age of 3 upwards and MVW Talent Agency caters for some young people and adults. We also hold classes in Kilcullen every Saturday, and it’s a good mix of girls and boys,” said Maureen Ward.

For more information on MVW Talent Agency and Talented Kids Performing School contact them on 045485464.

To vote for Johnny and Emily on Dancing With The Stars make sure to tune in to next week’s episode on Sunday 13 January at 6.30pm on RTE One.