Over the past two decades, a number of Home and Away cast members have competed on Dancing with the Stars, from Chris Hemsworth to Lincoln Lewis, initial champion Bec Hewitt to two-time contender Ada Nicodemou.
Emily Weir will fight alongside five other Australian celebrities in Sunday night’s season finale of the famous reality show in an effort to win the coveted mirror ball trophy.
The 32-year-old actress, who is speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle about her experience, says that she got lots of tips from her co-stars on how to handle the competition.
She explains, “They were just like, it’s really hard, it’ll really test your body.” Rest as much as you can; do this and just this; nothing else. They were accurate when they said to avoid making any other plans because they would take up a lot of your time.
“And to really take care of your body because, you know, if you shatter a rib or [injure your ankle] like Matt Preston, it can really destroy your experience. If you are experiencing severe pain, it is not enjoyable. Thus, the primary piece of advise was to strengthen and take care of your body throughout the procedure.
While Emily describes her DWTS experience as a “magical dream”, she admits she found the training to be quite gruelling.
“I’m a runner and I go to the gym and [I do] yoga, that kind of stuff, but it’s totally different,” she explains. “You’re pushing your body in such different ways.
“I couldn’t walk for a lot of the days after particular trainings and I had to get needles in my bum and my groin was really sore and I could barely walk. Thankfully, it was never to the point where I couldn’t perform, but that happens.
“You have to be really careful, it’s really testing on the body – especially with lifts and holding your body weight correctly. And I’m a baller, I was like, ‘Let’s go for it, throw me around, I really want to risk it for the biscuit’.”
‘Really special’
Just a few days remain until the declaration of this year’s champion, and Emily thinks it would be “fantastic” to win the series and contribute the winnings to her preferred charity.
“I’m pleased with the winner. For me, the victory has truly been having this experience and progressing as far as I have,” she says.
“But for me, the biggest win would be to be able to put really good money towards a really great cause by being able to win and donate money to my charity, The Sydney Retreat for people in recovery and who can’t afford recovery and things like that.”
She continues by saying that entering the tournament was one of her best career decisions to date.
It’s “just because of the nature of it, the challenge of it, and the reward of performing in that way,” she explains. “I’m just feeling extremely grateful and thrilled to celebrate with everyone, however it goes. It was a really great time.
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