Netballer Temepara George and partner Stefano Olivieri have been crowned this year's Dancing with the Stars champions after a hotly contested final on Tuesday evening (NZT).
The former Silver Fern and Northern Mystics midcourter came through under intense pressure from rival Monty Betham, who pulled out all the stops with his partner Nerida Jantti. The former Warriors league player, who flirted briefly with professional boxing, put together his best routines of the series, wearing a number of revealing outfits to woo the judges and voters. Betham played on his underdog status. But ultimately the result was a fair one, a reflection of Temepara’s consistency throughout the series. Temepara’s high scoring foxtrot and grand finale freestyle piece, which garnered the night’s top score (39), clinched the title.
George paid tribute to her partner Stefano.
“I have so many people to thank,” an emotional Temepara remarked. “I would like to thank all the people that supported and voted for me. Stefano has been amazing.”
Temepara was also pleased she had won it for her charity, Autism NZ. “I’m glad to win this for them and help raise their profile at the same time.”
Olivieri won last year’s final with infomercial queen Suzanne Paul.
The two-hour-long grand final saw both finalists perform three dances, one they had performed previously, a new dance, and a freestyle piece. The studio audience included Prime Minister Helen Clark and George's league playing partner, Sione Faumuina, the North Queensland Cowboys forward who will play his former team the Warriors this weekend.
The six eliminated stars; Geeling Ng, Peter Urlich, Martin Devlin, Tina Cross, Cory Hutchings and Miriama Smith all made guest appearances, and looked far more relaxed performing their numbers without the pressure of elimination. Cross and Smith were especially impressive showing they would not have been out of place had they made the final.
• In a SPASIFIK and SPASIFIKmag.com VIP members exclusive, we go behind the scenes with Temepara George as she tells all about life juggling a successful netball career and motherhood in Issue 26, May June.
