Life's a drag for Panti

Rory O'Neill's alter ego is sent home

- SANDRA MALLON

PANTI Bliss shimmied off the dance floor for the final time as she became the latest celebrity to leave Dancing With The Stars.

The drag queen legend - aka Rory O'Neill - ended up in the bottom two with former Eurovision singer Brooke Scullion.

Panti and Denys Samson danced a quirky American Smooth to Bjork's classic hit It's Oh So Quiet, scoring 27 points earlier in the night, while Brooke and her pro dance partner Robert Rowinski fought hard for their place in the semi-final. But it wasn't mean't to be for Panti and Denys and the pair were sent home in Sunday night's quarter-finals.

Speaking after leaving the show, Panti paid tribute to Brooke and Denys, adding she "loved" the Derry girl with "all my heart".

Brooke and Robert opened the show with a "powerful" tango, with judge Brian Redmond praising the dance, saying the pair "covered a lot of ground", adding it was "very fiery".

They initially scored 28 points, leaving viewers shocked to see them also in the dance off against Panti and Denys. Brooke and Robert join Kevin McGahern and Laura Nolan, Carl Mullan and Emily Barker, Suzanne Jackson and Michael Danilczuk and Damian McGinty and Kylee Vincent in next week's semi-finals as the celebrities get closer to lifting the glitterball trophy.

Earlier in the night, Kevin and Laura impressed audiences with their fast-paced Salsa to Stay with Me by Calvin Harris feat. Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams and Halsey. They scored 23 points.