Kerre Woodham and Jared Neame were sent home on Monday night's episode of Dancing with the Stars. Photo / Supplied
Kerre Woodham and Jared Neame were sent home on Monday night's episode of Dancing with the Stars. Photo / Supplied
She danced across our screens and into our hearts - now Kerre Woodham has said goodbye to Dancing with the Stars after being eliminated along with her partner Jared Neame on last night's episode.
The pair were sent home after a dance-off for survival with Alex Vaz and Brittany Coleman, who the judges ultimately voted to keep in the competition.
Now the broadcaster has opened up about the emotional journey to the stage and what goes on behind the scenes of the impressive dance numbers the audience sees.
Speaking on her podcast Inside Dancing with The Stars, the Newstalk ZB host said she felt "a little bit of relief" that the experience had come to an end, despite how passionate she was about dancing for her chosen charity Starship.
"I feel terrible saying that because Jared was in for the win, but realistically, I'm not sure how much longer I could have gone on," she confessed.
"It is the toughest challenge I have ever undertaken - and I've run six marathons and climbed Kilimanjaro.
"I think it was just the mental frying as well as the physicality of dance and the frustration of training five hours every day, day in, day out. And then a one-minute-thirty routine and I've got it wrong within the first two steps, and I'm thinking, what am I doing - I shouldn't be here."
The radio host admitted that after she and Neame scored low with their performance on Sunday night, she didn't think the judges would let them continue.
"I thought it was going to be a struggle to recover from scores that low," she said.
Kerre Woodham and Jared Neame were sent home on Monday night's episode of Dancing with the Stars. Photo / Supplied
Partner Jared Neame had nothing but praise for his celebrity dance partner, telling the podcast he'd been hopeful they had the chance to continue.
"I was hoping with what we bring to the floor, the energy, the fun, just kind of sharing that with everyone else in the audience and watching from home," he told Woodham.
And Neame admitted he felt a bit of relief that they had stopped dancing. "The stress has left the body and now we can catch up on sleep."
The pair agreed that while they may not have had the "bang" the judges were looking for, they "brought the bang in our own way" to the dance floor.
"It was an amazing experience, you don't really understand it till you're in it. It's the most intense, weird, crazy experience I've ever had," Woodham said.
Last night's episode saw Woodham depart in style, asking the producers to give her partner Neame another shot next season with a "bright young thing" so he could show off even more of his skills.
• Dancing with the Stars airs on Sunday at 7pm and Monday at 7.30pm on Three and ThreeNow.
