A sea of sequins, spins and swirls made a spectacular return to screen in tonight’s premiere of Dancing With The Stars on Channel 7.
Tonight, after meeting all 14 celebrities, the stars were divided into two groups set to take the stage over alternate weeks.
Kicking off the show was Home and Away favourite Emily Weir, who swapped her Summer Bay surfboard for a sexy Samba , scoring a total of 26 from the judges.
World Champion swimmer James Magnussen proved he is just as good on the dancefloor as he is in the pool, receiving 27 points for his red-hot Tango, with judge Craig Revel Horwood declaring James has “great potential”.
The Chase Australia’s Supernerd Issa Shultz took to the floor with his quirky Foxtrot, scoring 20 points. Judge Sharna Burgess predicted that Dancing With The Stars would be a “transformative experience” for Issa.
Despite putting his best foot forward, AFL legend Gavin Wanganeen found himself at the bottom of the leaderboard, scoring just eight points for his Cha Cha which Craig described as a “complete disaster.”
Mary Coustas captivated the audience with her Grecian-inspired Tango, however the judges believe Mary is capable of more, giving her 18 points and calling her choreography “too safe”.
Performer Paulini had the competition quaking in their heels, with her energetic Samba topping the leaderboard with 28 points.
Matt Preston had a rough start to the competition, getting injured on day one of training. With his rehearsals impacted due to his recovery he failed to impress scoring just 10 points for his Foxtrot.
The final leaderboard for the night:
- Paulini and Igor Ifliand – 28
- Emily Weir and Lyu Masuda – 26
- James Magnussen and Natalie Lowe – 27
- Issa Shultz and Lily Cornish – 20
- Mary Coustas and Aric Yegudkin – 18
- Matt Preston and Jess Raffa – 10
- Gavin Wanganeen and Megan Wragg – 8
