KEY POINTS:
April Ieremia was devastated to become the first cast-off on Dancing With the Stars last night, but says she's still smiling this morning.
"I was definitely disappointed but I can't say that I was surprised. If you look at Michael Laws, who is a great fellow, he's got an entire town behind him," she told nzherald.co.nz.
The former Silver Fern said it was hard to be the first fallen star, especially as she did not think she was the worst dancer in the competition.
She was also upset that she didn't get the chance to make the most of the experience and learn more dance moves.
"What I really wanted to do when I entered this competition was learn to waltz and tango. I didn't even get to touch on those," she said.
"I also campaigned religiously for a favourite song of mine, Quando by Engelbert Humperdinck, and I got that for the samba, which is week five.
"In that respect, it's pretty sad."
Despite its brief duration, Ieremia said she had loved her time on the show, especially dancing with her partner Csaba Szirmai.
"He's such a great dancer. He would take time out to show me how to dance in a bar or club so it wasn't completely wasted."
Ieremia will rejoin the cast for one last dance on the grand final in June.
