Kerre taps back in for DWTS
Newstalk ZB host Kerre Woodham thought she’d danced her last after being eliminated in week three of Dancing with the Stars.
But after several competitors were taken out by Covid-19 this week, she has had to fish her dancing shoes out of the bin — literally.
The radio host and her professional dance partner Jared Neame headed back to the studio with just two days, instead of five, to learn two new dances before tonight’s show.
But with such a small amount of time to prepare, is she back in the competition to win it?
“I think I’ve let down my young dance partner by not having a ruthless desire to win at all costs,” Woodham jokes.
“But I’m a realist. I’m 57, I’m fat, my shoulders live permanently up here,” she shrugs. “I’m not terribly agile. I never thought I could win it. I just wanted to have fun, ’cause I’ve loved the show forever and ever and ever.”
A self-titled Dancing with the Stars tragic, Woodham wanted to have the experience of going on the show but found it was far more difficult than she had ever imagined.
“When the judges marked us really low, I just thought if I’m not getting
any better . . . normally, if you’re a bit rubbish at something, you stop doing it. You don’t keep doing it in front of a million people.”
Woodham is no stranger to an audience — after all she broadcasts live every weekday on Newstalk ZB.
But even she admits she didn’t expect the nerves to hit when she went onstage.
“I haven’t recovered from that first dress rehearsal. It was the worst stage fright I’ve ever had, and I truly thought I’d be immune to that because I do live radio. I’ve emceed gigs. I’m used to thousands of people. I was literally paralysed.”
After that, the host felt she was unable to sleep properly or get adequate time to recover from the brutal schedule.
“None of us sleep. And I’ve never cried so much. Truly, it is like being a 3-year-old. Over-stimulated, overtired, just overwhelmed.”
And even when the dancing day is done, there’s no rest for competitors — they head straight back into planning and rehearsing their upcoming dances.
Woodham admits she must have been the only contestant not to burst into “floods of disappointed tears” after being eliminated. But returning to the show, she says the pressure is off.
Partner Neame agrees. “The competition side’s out of it now. It’s just about having fun and because obviously, we’re replacing a couple, wanting to do them proud.”
For Woodham, the show isn’t about points on the leaderboard, it’s about enjoying herself on the dance floor. And despite it all — the tears, the lack of sleep, the gruelling rehearsal schedule — the radio host says she would recommend the experience to anybody.
“I have a huge appreciation for the professionals and the people behind the scenes. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity.”
Ahead of tonight’s performance, Neame said the pair were as ready as they could be.
“We’re just using every minute, every second that we’ve got. We don’t have time to sit and go, it’s not working — we just have to try to push through.”
● Dancing with the Stars airs tonight at 7pm and tomorrow 7.30pm on Three and ThreeNow.
I think I’ve let down my dance partner by not having a ruthless desire to win at all costs.
Kerre Woodham