Rhys McClenaghan wins Dancing with the Stars

Olympic gold medal gymnast Rhys McClenaghan and his pro partner Laura Nolan have won Irish broadcaster RTÉ's Dancing with the Stars.

They were competing against three other couples in the final on Sunday night.

The 25-year-old, from County Down, and his partner looked visibly stunned when the announcement was made.

When asked how he felt by presenter Jennifer Zamparelli, he replied: "I don't know, I don't have any words."

His parents, Tracy and Danny watched on as their son and Laura took home the coveted Glitterball trophy.

The other couples who took part in the grand finale were Mrs. Brown's Boys actor Danny O'Carroll and Salome Chachua, social media influencer Kayleigh Trappe and Ervinas Merfeldas, Taekwondo athlete Jack Woolley and Alex Vladimirov.

Each of the four couples had to perform two dances for the judges during the final.

The first dance of the evening was the judges' choice with each couple performing a routine from a previous week.

Rhys reprised his movie week role of Spider-Man as he and his partner Laura danced the Charleston to the iconic film tune.

For the second dance each couple performed their show dance which allowed them to combine different dance styles and skills they had learned during the competition.

Rhys and Laura took to the floor for the last time and danced to Beautiful Things by Benson Boone.

They scored the maximum of 40 points from the four judges during both their routines but their win was ultimately decided by a public vote.

Speaking after their second dance, Rhys said: "I feel amazing. What a way to finish an incredible journey.

"I feel like I've learnt a lot about myself, one of those things being, embrace challenge, embrace fear to do things.

"I was terrified this whole season, I really was, but embrace it and then you'll find out more things about yourself and find out, you know, who you really are."

"Everything that I've thrown at you, you've just embraced and said, 'yep', and really rose to the challenge every time," Laura said in response.

"I just want to take this opportunity to thank you, you have honestly made this whole journey incredible and you've been a dream to work with."

Ahead of the finale, Rhys and Laura travelled to his home gym in Newtownards where he was greeted by dozens of young, aspiring gymnasts.

During the visit, Laura described him as a "dream student".

His victory on Dancing with the Stars less than a year after McClenaghan won an Olympic gold on the pommel horse in Paris.