Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload, the podcast plat Deep That.
Speaker 2: Life and welcome back guys to TV Reload. As you
Speaker 2: may know, my name is Benjamin Norris and this is
Speaker 2: your podcast to get all the inside goss on the
Speaker 2: popular TV shows you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably,
Speaker 2: our TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment,
Speaker 2: and yet very little is known about how our favorite
Speaker 2: shows get made. So each episode I've been finding guests
Speaker 2: the wann to dive just that little bit deeper to
Speaker 2: the shows they're currently making, so that you can hear
Speaker 2: all their exclusive stories and gain access to some of
Speaker 2: the biggest names in Australian television. I want to thank
Speaker 2: you for downloading or subscribing to this podcast TV Reload
Speaker 2: however you've found me. I love hearing your feedback, so
Speaker 2: make sure you leave a review or a comment on
Speaker 2: your chosen podcast platform. This chat, I'm joined by the
Speaker 2: winner of Dancing with the Stars, Phil Burton, who is
Speaker 2: best known as a member of the Australian pop vocal
Speaker 2: band Human Nature. Phil Burton is an absolute delight. He
Speaker 2: managed to take on Fierce Competition this year with the
Speaker 2: likes of Virginia gag, Mary Custers, Christy Wheel and Paulini
Speaker 2: and runner up Emily Weir, who you would know from
Speaker 2: home and away. He was the only male left in
Speaker 2: the competition on Sunday night, and with the judges' scores
Speaker 2: and audience participation, he managed to win the competition and
Speaker 2: get the Mirror Ball for twenty twenty three. I will
Speaker 2: find out if he knew that his management wanted all
Speaker 2: of human nature to be in the competition. Phil will
Speaker 2: talk about shedding his inhibitions and if men in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty three care as much about their masculinity being judged
Speaker 2: by other men. We will get some fascinating insights on
Speaker 2: why this series was so popular with audiences and how
Speaker 2: this group of celebrities found friendship sharing their personal stories
Speaker 2: on the dance floor. Plus, we will get plenty of
Speaker 2: exclusives from behind the scenes of Dancing with the Stars,
Speaker 2: which is now available to catch up on seven Plus. Anyway,
Speaker 2: let's bring Phil into the podcast, and guys, I really
Speaker 2: hope you enjoy this very special look behind the scenes
Speaker 2: of last week's finale of Dancing with the Stars. I
Speaker 2: Phil congratulate on winning Dancing with the Stars twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Ben, Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Was it a shock to take this out because I
Speaker 2: mean the competition this year was pretty tough.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a shock, I have to be honest,
Speaker 3: you know.
Speaker 1: Of course, for the last few weeks, Emily and I
Speaker 1: had both known that one of us was going to
Speaker 1: win it because we'd filmed us both, you know, coming
Speaker 1: to the front of the final two, but we didn't
Speaker 1: actually know which one of the two of us was
Speaker 1: going to take it out from there. So for the
Speaker 1: last sort of six weeks or so, I think both
Speaker 1: of us have just been on tenor hooks, just waiting.
Speaker 3: To figure it out.
Speaker 1: But the beautiful thing was we actually were together last
Speaker 1: night watching the final together. Emily organized to get together,
Speaker 1: a lot of the cast came along and we were
Speaker 1: all hanging out watching it on a projector screen in
Speaker 1: a pub in Sydney, and Emily and I stood there
Speaker 1: arms around each other watching the final result, and it
Speaker 1: couldn't have ended in.
Speaker 3: A more beautiful way. That's the fact that we were together.
Speaker 3: And I think in the end, no matter which one of.
Speaker 1: Us won, I think any of the competitors that were
Speaker 1: on there can look back with pride and say, you
Speaker 1: know what, together we made an amazing TV show.
Speaker 2: You know what I think is really interesting about filming
Speaker 2: multiple endings. Apart from you know, it's a safety thing
Speaker 2: that I think that they do, it actually works really
Speaker 2: well because you get this response from both people being
Speaker 2: quite supportive of the other person winning. You know what
Speaker 2: I mean, Like, you get this yes, of course it's you,
Speaker 2: that's so great, and then they're like, roll tape go again,
Speaker 2: and then the other person's like, of course it's you.
Speaker 2: So you get this very genuine television moment you do.
Speaker 1: And and funnily enough, even going back in the series
Speaker 1: before that, when we all got together, all of the
Speaker 1: different celebs and the partners, the pro dancers, there was
Speaker 1: very little competition amongst the amongst the group. Backstage, there
Speaker 1: was almost like basically none. Everyone was so supportive of
Speaker 1: each other and we were there was the amount of
Speaker 1: hugs that were going around backstage was just ridiculous. So
Speaker 1: it's all just so much love and support. You're in makeup,
Speaker 1: You're sitting in here and makeup with all these amazing
Speaker 1: creations going on next to you. Then you go into
Speaker 1: wardrobe and you get these fabulous outpuits fits put on.
Speaker 3: And it feels like you're just done this incredible ride together.
Speaker 1: And so when you look back and see the TV
Speaker 1: show that we made, like I said before, I think
Speaker 1: no matter whether you came first, or whether you were
Speaker 1: the first person voted out and or anyone in between,
Speaker 1: you could just look at what we made together and
Speaker 1: feel so proud of what we did.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 2: Home and Away contestants are really hard for you to beat.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you know this. There's a bit
Speaker 2: of a track record with this show where it's like, Okay,
Speaker 2: there's a Home and Away guy, there's a Home and
Speaker 2: Away girl. Everyone's going to have to up the anti.
Speaker 2: I was wondering, did you think that she was the
Speaker 2: one to beat? I mean, who out of this competition
Speaker 2: did you think was your strongest competition.
Speaker 1: Before the competition started, Just from name alone, I thought
Speaker 1: that the competition, the main competition was going to be
Speaker 1: Christie whel and Brown because she's big in the musical
Speaker 1: theater scene, and in the musical theater you have to
Speaker 1: know how to dance, so I thought that she was
Speaker 1: going to be really, really great. I also thought Paulini
Speaker 1: was going to be fantastic just from her background of
Speaker 1: performing on stage. And of course, you know, both of
Speaker 1: them made the finals, So I guess I was right
Speaker 1: in that way.
Speaker 3: But I didn't realize that Emily was such a great package.
Speaker 1: I knew she was a great actress, but I didn't
Speaker 1: know that she had that dance background that she'd had
Speaker 1: and was really comfortable with the rhythm and the steps.
Speaker 1: So she came through as a bit of a surprise
Speaker 1: package for me. But from her very first dance you
Speaker 1: could tell it was like, Oh, no, she's really great.
Speaker 3: She's going to be really good in this competition.
Speaker 2: Well, it's one of those competitions that I think does
Speaker 2: well with the audience because we are watching you, guys
Speaker 2: learn more about yourself than you've ever realized before. I mean,
Speaker 2: apart from the moves. What did you learn about yourself
Speaker 2: during this experience that made it so rewarding?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 1: I think, you know, being a performer on stage, A
Speaker 1: lot of artists and creative types have this thing called
Speaker 1: imposter syndrome where they feel like what they're doing is
Speaker 1: never good enough and that someday someone is going to
Speaker 1: expose them for the fraud that they think they are.
Speaker 1: It's a really common thing amongst performers that have their insecurity,
Speaker 1: and of course I've got it. So I've got that anxiety.
Speaker 1: Anytime I go on stage, I feel like someone's going
Speaker 1: to expose me as a fraud or something is going
Speaker 1: to go catastrophically wrong, and you know, I'm going to
Speaker 1: lose my voice or I'm going to fall over and
Speaker 1: break my ankle and have.
Speaker 3: To just stop.
Speaker 4: The show always happen, I mean, those things can happen
Speaker 4: so well. The thing is also it's like going in
Speaker 4: the ocean and just being constantly anxious that you're going
Speaker 4: to get bit in my shark. It's okay, yeah, it
Speaker 4: could happen, but the chances are so minimal that it's
Speaker 4: not worth worrying about.
Speaker 1: And I think that's something I felt in this show,
Speaker 1: was that level of self confidence where I can go
Speaker 1: out on stage and say it's going to be okay.
Speaker 1: I'm doing something that I've never done before. I've never
Speaker 1: danced with a partner before, I've never danced or in before.
Speaker 1: I've never had to grab someone and walk around like that,
Speaker 1: and you know, in front of TV cameras and millions
Speaker 1: of people at home, so to have that confidence be
Speaker 1: instilled in me and to know that I did it well,
Speaker 1: that is an amazing thing. It's kind of life changing,
Speaker 1: it really is, because now I can approach anything that
Speaker 1: I do with that level of confidence and knowing I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be okay at this.
Speaker 3: I know what I'm doing.
Speaker 1: I've prepared, That's the main thing I've prepared and that's
Speaker 1: going to help me through this.
Speaker 3: So yeah, like I said, it's kind of life changing
Speaker 3: in your way.
Speaker 2: I love this for you. I mean, we all think
Speaker 2: you know human nature. We've grown up with you guys,
Speaker 2: so we just assumed that you guys have been doing
Speaker 2: this for so long you'd be confident, maybe even a
Speaker 2: little bit arrogant. But this has really shown you that
Speaker 2: you have this inside you and you can do something
Speaker 2: like this, which is powerful.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: And I think being a part of a group with
Speaker 1: three other guys, there's always been that protection around me
Speaker 1: and around the other three guys as well of knowing
Speaker 1: that there's three other people on stage that have got
Speaker 1: your back when you're out there performing a solo or
Speaker 1: a lead line, as you've always got that help and support.
Speaker 1: So taking that away and it's just me I mean
Speaker 1: I had Ashley, who was the most amazing partner, like
Speaker 1: incredible dancing and incredible teacher. She brought out so much
Speaker 1: in me as well. She had so much support for
Speaker 1: me and taught me perfectly. She couldn't have taught me
Speaker 1: any better than she did, And I think we really
Speaker 1: clicked as a cup. You could tell that between us
Speaker 1: we had a really special bond straight away and we
Speaker 1: just loved what we were doing. So having her there
Speaker 1: supporting me as I was kind of out there on
Speaker 1: you know, I guess solo without the other three guys
Speaker 1: that I think that's the main part that has changed
Speaker 1: me so much in knowing that if I don't that
Speaker 1: I don't need support when.
Speaker 3: I'm on stage, I'm good enough as me. Yeh? Does
Speaker 3: that make sense? And I'm not saying I'm not in
Speaker 3: any way saying oh I don't.
Speaker 1: Need the other three guys, because when it comes to
Speaker 1: human nature, that's what we are. We're four guys putting
Speaker 1: each other on stage and that's always going to be
Speaker 1: that way. But when I'm out on stage without them,
Speaker 1: I know that what I've got is still strong enough.
Speaker 2: This isn't your Robbie Williams moment where you announce that
Speaker 2: you're going solo.
Speaker 3: Absolutely.
Speaker 1: I do have some solo shows coming up that I'm
Speaker 1: doing that start in September and go through to early
Speaker 1: next year, and I can't wait to do those shows.
Speaker 1: They're going to be really exciting. But that for me
Speaker 1: is branching out and still having Human Nature as a
Speaker 1: very much an ongoing concern. I'm actually the guys are
Speaker 1: out here again next week and we're all together touring
Speaker 1: for two weeks, so can't wait for.
Speaker 3: That as well.
Speaker 2: Was it true that your manager suggested that all of
Speaker 2: the Human Nature boys took part in the competition and
Speaker 2: competed against each other? Have I mean, sometimes these things
Speaker 2: happen behind the sides.
Speaker 3: Is that talent doesn't know? That's brand new? I didn't
Speaker 3: know that. Is that true? Well?
Speaker 2: I heard that your your manager is a female. She's
Speaker 2: a woman, is Jim. Yeah, So she was asked, you know,
Speaker 2: for a time check, availability check, which happens for these
Speaker 2: sorts of shows, and she said, I want all the
Speaker 2: boys to do it separately and compete against each other.
Speaker 2: Wouldn't that be fun?
Speaker 3: That's an explosive of that this, I guess. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 3: if you actually haven't heard that. I don't know. Yeah,
Speaker 3: maybe she did.
Speaker 1: I guess that's those backroom discussions that the actual performer
Speaker 1: doesn't hear about. That's like, I'll leave that to the manager.
Speaker 1: So I'm not sure what discussion she had. If that
Speaker 1: was one of them, that would would be really interesting,
Speaker 1: wouldn't it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, put the phone call in and be like, is
Speaker 2: this guy that I did a podcas with crazy? Or
Speaker 2: is there some triff Jim?
Speaker 3: What's going on now?
Speaker 1: Funnily enough, that would be be a strange one because,
Speaker 1: like I said before, the backstage feeling was very much
Speaker 1: there was no competition amongst any of the competitors. Backstage,
Speaker 1: it was all about putting on a great show together
Speaker 1: and being proud of what we've done. So if you
Speaker 1: put the four of us in the mix, I guess
Speaker 1: we've always supported each other backstage before we go on
Speaker 1: any show, it's always been us as a team. So
Speaker 1: to go out there as four separate performers, it would
Speaker 1: be a really interesting thing. Would we approach it as
Speaker 1: we're still together even though we're dancing separately, or would
Speaker 1: we be competitive with each other?
Speaker 2: It's wow, that's really It would have been really interesting.
Speaker 2: I think it would have been really interesting to see
Speaker 2: that happen. And I did hear that the conversations were
Speaker 2: what a fantastic idea. We would love that, But then
Speaker 2: it would just become sort of the human nature addition
Speaker 2: of Dancing with the stars. So I think that.
Speaker 3: Maybe that is next Dancing the Stars, the human nature edition.
Speaker 3: We were up against the wig On family feud once.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, maybe.
Speaker 5: What if we're Yeah, we won, which was good, but
Speaker 5: imagine that, like if you had like the four of
Speaker 5: us and then you had the four Wiggles and that
Speaker 5: was your thing, the dancing with the stars, the human
Speaker 5: nature and versus the Wiggles.
Speaker 2: I don't know why, but I think this sounds so exciting,
Speaker 2: and if anyone's listening to this, make that happen.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, go on Human Nature and the Wiggles.
Speaker 2: How different was this kind of dancing? And I'd really
Speaker 2: appreciated you in your final dance doing some of those
Speaker 2: signature moves that we'd seen from Human Nature. It was
Speaker 2: sort of pulling a story together. But how different is
Speaker 2: learning this kind of dance compared to that choreography that
Speaker 2: you would have been learning.
Speaker 3: Over the years.
Speaker 1: Got way way different, like more different than I even expected.
Speaker 1: I thought going into this that the experience of knowing
Speaker 1: well the pop dancing that do with human nature and
Speaker 1: the boy band stuff and then the motown things. I
Speaker 1: knew that I would learn the steps quickly, and I
Speaker 1: knew that I had that sense of rhythm, but I
Speaker 1: I didn't realize just how small a part of borroom
Speaker 1: dancing those two things are. It's like, ninety percent of
Speaker 1: borroo dancing is about your posture and your positioning and
Speaker 1: your attitude in the dance, and so that was something
Speaker 1: brand new and quite alien. And so I think I
Speaker 1: learned very very quickly that the experience I had didn't
Speaker 1: really help much. And I equate it to if you
Speaker 1: asked a pop singer, if you asked someone like Britney
Speaker 1: Spears to go out and sing an opera song.
Speaker 3: Yeah, sure she's going to.
Speaker 1: Get the melody and the lyrics right, but it's not
Speaker 1: going to sound like an opera song.
Speaker 2: No. No, I think you're right. I mean it is
Speaker 2: very true that, and I think that's why you can
Speaker 2: have Paulini, and we can have you. We can have people,
Speaker 2: and Christy will and Brown, we know we can have
Speaker 2: people who have experience with stage, but it's still other
Speaker 2: world to be able to put something like this which
Speaker 2: is so complex and completely out of your warehouse just
Speaker 2: as much as anyone else.
Speaker 3: That's right.
Speaker 1: And even someone like Virginia Gay who came into the
Speaker 1: competition going, you know, I can't dance.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I cannot dance.
Speaker 1: And but then the dancing that she did, oh my god,
Speaker 1: she knows how to sell it. She is a born
Speaker 1: show person absolutely and knows how to get out there
Speaker 1: and perform. So the dance steps, whether they were complicated
Speaker 1: or simple, or difficult or easy for her, that actually,
Speaker 1: in the end didn't matter.
Speaker 3: As much as just how good a show she put on.
Speaker 3: Her and her partner Ian.
Speaker 1: They were so perfectly suited, and she said, looked amazing.
Speaker 3: They really did so much.
Speaker 2: I heard that she ran away with her dress as well.
Speaker 2: She was so she loved that outfit so much. She
Speaker 2: was like, I'm sexy, and she was like, I said,
Speaker 2: I'm taking you home with me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I probably got it out that, yeah, run away
Speaker 3: with it.
Speaker 1: No, I love Virginities And like I said, she's a
Speaker 1: born performer, and she did, goingtous so brilliantly.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you were.
Speaker 2: The only bloke left in the competition for the finale,
Speaker 2: which is quite unachievement. But this is I want to
Speaker 2: unpack this thing with you because I think it's quite interesting.
Speaker 2: Do you think that men often have less rhythm than women?
Speaker 2: Or is it a confidence thing? Why do you think
Speaker 2: that you were the only male left in the competition.
Speaker 1: I think men sometimes they have to break through an awkwardness,
Speaker 1: and that's something I guess it's not a generational thing,
Speaker 1: but what I like, an innate thing that they still
Speaker 1: Maybe people are slowly starting to break out with that
Speaker 1: gender fluidity that you know a lot of gen zs
Speaker 1: and everything. Now they're just so comfortable with being gender
Speaker 1: fluid and talking about that, you know, and getting rid
Speaker 1: of those stereotypes, which I think is amazing.
Speaker 3: I think for people my age and.
Speaker 1: Maybe up, like from maybe thirty and up, it's still
Speaker 1: there is that innate sense of boys don't dance.
Speaker 2: I was thinking about this quite a bit because I
Speaker 2: was watching you throughout the whole season, and I'm thinking,
Speaker 2: do straight men have an issue in twenty twenty three
Speaker 2: about worrying that they're looking camp and that there's that
Speaker 2: connotation of looking camp? And maybe being gay. I don't
Speaker 2: know is a native.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think there's probably is still that little bit
Speaker 1: of discomfort. And I'm not saying that any of the
Speaker 1: competitors in the show had that heads, but it's it's
Speaker 1: something almost innate. I think that it's something that men
Speaker 1: do have to break through at times. Is that that
Speaker 1: feeling of is this masculine enough?
Speaker 3: Is what I'm doing? Is it emasculating in any way?
Speaker 1: And I'm here to tell you it's absolutely not, because
Speaker 1: I mean, let's be honest, I was pressed up against
Speaker 1: a beautiful female for eight weeks and really there's nothing.
Speaker 2: I know where you're going with this, you know, I.
Speaker 3: Think're masculating about that in the slightest.
Speaker 2: So she looked good, she looked good.
Speaker 1: Amazing, actually was amazing, And you know the experience of
Speaker 1: that was it was just pure joy, It really was.
Speaker 1: And I think that if there were any men out
Speaker 1: there watching the show hopefully, I mean, look at someone
Speaker 1: like James, who's like the most seriously like masculine, look
Speaker 1: like he's ripped, like you wouldn't believe he's he's so
Speaker 1: he's an elite athlete. You don't get more masculine than
Speaker 1: someone like James maguson who can get out there and
Speaker 1: do these beautiful war wltz's with Natalie and look amazing
Speaker 1: doing it. He looked fantastic, and he was wearing these
Speaker 1: outfits that were very showy, sparkly, you know, bright red
Speaker 1: and showing off his muscles and everything like that, and
Speaker 1: he looked amazing.
Speaker 3: There was nothing feminine about it at all.
Speaker 1: It was just he looked so powerful because he was
Speaker 1: quite graceful, and he did it so well. So if
Speaker 1: there's any men out there that are listening now thinking,
Speaker 1: oh no, I could never do that.
Speaker 3: It's not my thing.
Speaker 1: You know, it's too girly for me, Oh bullshit, get
Speaker 1: out there and do it. It's just amazing.
Speaker 2: I thought with you, though, Phil, this is what was
Speaker 2: so impressive about it was that I watched you give
Speaker 2: yourself up to it like and that was kind of
Speaker 2: why to me you got as far as you did
Speaker 2: in the competition. Yes, you probably took on some moves
Speaker 2: that were probably not that familiar to you, but your
Speaker 2: accessibility of that, you still looked like a masculine man,
Speaker 2: do you know what I mean? It's could you could
Speaker 2: have easily been like, oh, I don't know if I
Speaker 2: feel comfortable doing this because I might be perceived that way,
Speaker 2: but you went for it, and you still always looked.
Speaker 2: I don't know why I keep saying this, but like
Speaker 2: you still look masculine, and who cares if we look
Speaker 2: masculine or feminine?
Speaker 3: You know what I exactly?
Speaker 1: I think that I was lucky enough with me performing
Speaker 1: with human nature from being so young.
Speaker 3: You know, it started when I was fifteen years old.
Speaker 1: That whole thing of masculine feminine disappeared for me at
Speaker 1: a very early age because we were up. We were
Speaker 1: up performing and dancing on stage when we were fifteen
Speaker 1: sixteen years old during a time when we were at
Speaker 1: a school that was full of farm kids and country
Speaker 1: kids and sporting kids, sporting boys and stuff who looked
Speaker 1: at us as if we were the campus most effeminate
Speaker 1: boys in the school and really told us. They weren't
Speaker 1: afraid to tell us that either. All that crap got
Speaker 1: out of the way very early. So for me in
Speaker 1: Dancing with the Stars, it was so easy for me
Speaker 1: to just give myself up to it and dive right
Speaker 1: in because I don't have that awkwardness or fear about
Speaker 1: what it's going to look like I was just happy
Speaker 1: to just go, Yeah, okay, put on whatever you want
Speaker 1: on me. Put me in the most glittery spangley outfit
Speaker 1: you can find, and put on the you know, make
Speaker 1: me twist my hips and shake my booty as much
Speaker 1: as you want, because I love it.
Speaker 2: I'm here for it. I'll be getting up every morning
Speaker 2: just to watch that dance to get me going in
Speaker 2: the day. Your dance and that finale is the new coffee.
Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you hich is Suddenly enough, that's kind
Speaker 1: of doesn't quite work out for me, because that.
Speaker 3: Dance nearly killed me, It really did. I needed to
Speaker 3: lie down after that dance.
Speaker 2: James said to me. He was like, I'm going to
Speaker 2: miss the spray cands. He was like, I'm not going
Speaker 2: to miss that red gumby outfit that he was wearing.
Speaker 2: He said, that can totally be thrown away. But I
Speaker 2: wanted to ask you, what are you going to miss
Speaker 2: about this whole experience. You're going to miss getting into
Speaker 2: those dance classes and learning learning or executing the dance
Speaker 2: so brilliantly.
Speaker 3: I already missed that. I already missed that. I think
Speaker 3: the main thing that I'm going to.
Speaker 1: Miss is that feeling of camaraderie backstage of you know,
Speaker 1: putting I'm really blessed that when I perform with the
Speaker 1: other guys, we still have that. And I think, in
Speaker 1: a way, when I go into the next Human Nature gigs,
Speaker 1: I'm going to feel that again. It's like it's given
Speaker 1: me a new lease on that of being backstage with
Speaker 1: new people and unfamiliar people and feeling that sense of
Speaker 1: teamwork and putting on a great show together. I think
Speaker 1: now I'll go back to that familiar feeling of human
Speaker 1: nature and bring that new energy and I can't wait
Speaker 1: for that. But I'm going to I'm going to miss
Speaker 1: meeting new friends. I've got to miss dancing with Ashley.
Speaker 1: And there were moments that the two of us, it
Speaker 1: was just the two of us in a dance studio
Speaker 1: working things out together that felt just really really fun
Speaker 1: and joyful, you know that we felt like we were
Speaker 1: creating this amazing thing together. And I'm going to miss that.
Speaker 1: But I've got these amazing new friendships now, and the
Speaker 1: memory of that's going to last forever.
Speaker 2: There's a rumor. There was a rumor floating round over
Speaker 2: last week which was this could be Daryl's last season
Speaker 2: doing Dancing with the Stars. I mean, we still don't
Speaker 2: know they're renewed it. We don't know any of this,
Speaker 2: But I wanted to know were there any whispers behind
Speaker 2: the scenes, because if it was his last show, we
Speaker 2: might have missed an opportunity to really celebrate that. But
Speaker 2: was there any conversation about that whilst you were filming
Speaker 2: or life last night?
Speaker 3: No, there actually wasn't at all. No, that's all new
Speaker 3: to me hearing that rumor. I don't know if that
Speaker 3: rumor comes from anywhere.
Speaker 1: It's definitely not from the dancers because we're not involved
Speaker 1: in any of those decisions at all. We just we're
Speaker 1: backstage with the creative types and the executives that make
Speaker 1: those decisions. They're watching it from somewhere else. So we
Speaker 1: just stick to what we know and is making a
Speaker 1: great show. And yeah, we did it. I think we
Speaker 1: can all look back with so much pride on it.
Speaker 2: Sonya also looked like she was really in her element.
Speaker 2: Was there anything left on the cutting or were all
Speaker 2: of those sassy comments used? Because I did hear that
Speaker 2: there was a sassy comment back to Todd calling him
Speaker 2: a shunt and a few people work on the show
Speaker 2: was like, is that going to be left in the edit?
Speaker 2: It was left in the edit, So I'm wondering, is
Speaker 2: there anything outrageous that was left on the cutting room
Speaker 2: floor that we didn't see?
Speaker 1: Donya is literally peppering with things like that nearly crossed
Speaker 1: the line the whole time. She's got about ten or
Speaker 1: twenty different things that she said. I would suggest that
Speaker 1: ninety percent of the stuff she said doesn't make it
Speaker 1: to air, and probably ninety percent of that stuff that
Speaker 1: doesn't make their it gets cut not for time, but
Speaker 1: because it's just incredibly inappropriate.
Speaker 3: She's so inappropriate and at the same time is the
Speaker 3: funniest woman.
Speaker 1: She is just hilarious, and she keeps the mood like
Speaker 1: up in that skybox and everything, she keeps the mood
Speaker 1: so light.
Speaker 3: There's just a it's a barrel of laughs. She's just
Speaker 3: the nicest.
Speaker 1: Lady and funny in a very rude way, which we
Speaker 1: all love. So, I mean, Sonya, she's a legend and
Speaker 1: deservedly so.
Speaker 3: She's great.
Speaker 2: And you know what I also thought was really good
Speaker 2: about this season is the judges that we had. You know,
Speaker 2: they did these opening dances, which you know, we hadn't
Speaker 2: really seen before really even around the world, because you know,
Speaker 2: these judges are about to be extremely critical. You know
Speaker 2: there would be some trepidation in maybe showing their skill
Speaker 2: set with dance before a performance. What did you think
Speaker 2: about that? Did you think that there must have been
Speaker 2: a lot of pressure on them.
Speaker 3: They should have let us hold up paddles for them
Speaker 3: as well.
Speaker 2: There's a missed opportunity.
Speaker 3: That is they're great. I mean the comments.
Speaker 1: Obviously Craig he can be quite mean at times, and Todd,
Speaker 1: who used to I guess, be mean, but now that
Speaker 1: Craig's there, Todd's become a bit more brutally honest, which
Speaker 1: is actually a great thing because he tells it like
Speaker 1: it is and you hear his comments and there's no
Speaker 1: point can you say, oh, that's prahp, that's not true,
Speaker 1: because anything he says, you're like, well, yeah, he got
Speaker 1: that right.
Speaker 3: And Mark and Shanna were just so supportive the.
Speaker 1: Whole time, which is great, which it was a really
Speaker 1: fantastic balance. And in the end, the judges are there
Speaker 1: to help make a great TV show as well.
Speaker 3: And in the same way as.
Speaker 1: We're backstage, not really being competitive with each other, because
Speaker 1: we just want to make a great show.
Speaker 3: The judges are the same.
Speaker 1: They know their role and they do it really well,
Speaker 1: and they create drama, they create controversy, and in the
Speaker 1: end you're getting people at home who are getting passionate
Speaker 1: about what they're seeing.
Speaker 3: And that's the whole point. It's exactly.
Speaker 1: It's our job to give the people the joy of
Speaker 1: watching great dancers, and it's their job to make people oh,
Speaker 1: it's not my favorite.
Speaker 3: Was better than that?
Speaker 1: Blah blah blah, and have people actually feel something for
Speaker 1: the show. So, you know, according to the people here
Speaker 1: at Channel seven have been discussing the ratings and they're ecstatic. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they are, so obviously the ratings. It connected with people,
Speaker 1: which is just amazing. You know.
Speaker 2: What I also thought was that you could really see
Speaker 2: that camaraderie and you've mentioned that a few times, the
Speaker 2: connection between everyone, and I felt like the dances this
Speaker 2: season had some performances where these contestants are digging very
Speaker 2: deep into their own personal life to put that into
Speaker 2: the dance for us to feel and we felt it.
Speaker 2: That is that the reason why you connected so much,
Speaker 2: because you often would discuss behind the scenes that story.
Speaker 2: We're talking about it. We all discussing where people were
Speaker 2: getting their inspiration fromt.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah completely, and you could see it in a
Speaker 1: couple of the dances, like Christie's at the end, and
Speaker 1: particularly Mary's final Oh my God, that was just like
Speaker 1: a tear your heart out moment of her with her
Speaker 1: daughter Jamie, And we knew that story of how difficult
Speaker 1: it was for her to have Jamie, like she went
Speaker 1: through twenty something different IVF treatments and never gave up.
Speaker 3: So, I mean, what an incredible story. And I think
Speaker 3: you know, the dancers that I did weren't necessarily like
Speaker 3: a real personal thing for me. There was there was
Speaker 3: parts of it, like.
Speaker 1: The final dance had a lot of human nature in it,
Speaker 1: and the Pasadobla was to one of my favorite bands, Queen,
Speaker 1: so there was there was that personal thing for me,
Speaker 1: but not as deeply as those people went.
Speaker 3: But you, I guess when you put in a room.
Speaker 1: Of course, there was times when they're filming you in
Speaker 1: the rehearsal space and you're talking about the dancers coming
Speaker 1: up and you're discussing it.
Speaker 3: But when the cameras aren't on, it's just you and
Speaker 3: your partner and.
Speaker 1: You've got a lot of time together, and so you
Speaker 1: do get really personal with each other and you tell
Speaker 1: you tell things to them. I guess because of that
Speaker 1: intimacy is that you're dancing so closely together and you
Speaker 1: you have to you can't be awkward dancing that closely
Speaker 1: together or it's going to come across on TV that way.
Speaker 1: So you have to let yourself go and you have
Speaker 1: to give yourself up to that per and be personal.
Speaker 1: So the discussions with them would get quite personal, and
Speaker 1: you're revealing things about your life and that you often
Speaker 1: wouldn't tell many people. So I think that's something that
Speaker 1: really comes through in the dances as well. And why
Speaker 1: you can see such an intimate connection between between the
Speaker 1: partners is because you've let yourself go, and like you
Speaker 1: said before that you said that you could see that
Speaker 1: I really dived into it. I think both physically and mentally,
Speaker 1: that's something that really helps. And you come out the
Speaker 1: other end feeling like you're feeling refreshed. It's amazing.
Speaker 2: What do you think? Do you think that you know,
Speaker 2: having fresher faces on some of these celebrity shows is
Speaker 2: better than going to an All Stars I.
Speaker 3: Don't know if it's necessarily better, it's just different.
Speaker 1: I think All Stars has definitely got its place because
Speaker 1: you are seeing people that have obviously shown that they
Speaker 1: have that ability to get through to the final previously,
Speaker 1: so you're seeing I guess you're seeing better dances from
Speaker 1: those people than you would expect from someone that's brand new.
Speaker 1: But I think, yeah, there is something really really amazing
Speaker 1: about watching someone who has never danced before and you've
Speaker 1: seen them grow and learn all these new things about themselves,
Speaker 1: and you know, really progress in a competition, and you're
Speaker 1: taking yourself from a position of real discomfort, and by
Speaker 1: the end you've added something to what you can do
Speaker 1: that you can look back on and feel so proud.
Speaker 1: And I think the people at home can really really
Speaker 1: see that. I think it's a beautiful thing to watch.
Speaker 1: I think people love They love the drama and the controversy,
Speaker 1: of course, but deep down, I think people love watching
Speaker 1: other humans do great things.
Speaker 2: Of course, of course, one of the last questions is
Speaker 2: will you take ash out for dinner with the family
Speaker 2: to say thank you?
Speaker 3: Absolutely well, we actually already did that a bunch of.
Speaker 1: Times while we were filming, and just between the last episode.
Speaker 1: Ashley unfortunately, like two days after we finished filming, ash
Speaker 1: headed back to London. She's based in London. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: she's from Perth originally, but she lives in London at
Speaker 1: the moment.
Speaker 3: But we did get a chance.
Speaker 1: To go out and have do it together, her and
Speaker 1: her fiance and myself and my wife Justine.
Speaker 3: We all went out and had a really great dinner together.
Speaker 1: And just looked back on the amazing new friendships that
Speaker 1: we'd made between the four of us and this amazing
Speaker 1: job that we did together. And when I say together,
Speaker 1: I don't just mean Ashley and myself, but Ronnie and
Speaker 1: Justine as well, because the support that they gave us
Speaker 1: was so important.
Speaker 3: And yeah, so to.
Speaker 1: Be able to thank each other and the four, you know,
Speaker 1: to thank all four of us together, it was a
Speaker 1: really great thing.
Speaker 3: And I know we're going to have that friendship forever.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: Last night watching the show, we were facetiming and so
Speaker 1: we had Ashley on the screen watching as well, and
Speaker 1: we're all in tears when we won.
Speaker 2: Of course, of course I want the Ash and phild
Speaker 2: showbag because I want to get one of those ponytails
Speaker 2: on the top of my head so I.
Speaker 3: Can stiltails Yeah, that was awesome.
Speaker 1: It nearly took my eye out on more than on occasion,
Speaker 1: but I didn't mind.
Speaker 3: I didn't mind at all.
Speaker 2: The last question to ask you something I ask everyone
Speaker 2: who joins the podcast TV reload something from behind the scenes,
Speaker 2: something that we as an audience did not see, kind
Speaker 2: of like a behind the scenes secret or maybe a
Speaker 2: funny anecdote from what happened while you were making the show.
Speaker 1: Oh well, not necessarily a funny anecdote, but this was
Speaker 1: the thing that made me like the most positive thing
Speaker 1: about backstage.
Speaker 3: The creative director of the show, Kelly Abby.
Speaker 1: She was the one that would come up with the
Speaker 1: concepts of the dance and you know, the one that
Speaker 1: was like, okay, Phil, you're going to be a gangster
Speaker 1: in a pool hall for your passadob Lake. And that
Speaker 1: was her job, and she created some amazing concepts. But
Speaker 1: Kelly has been in the business for so long, and
Speaker 1: she would get us all together before every episode just
Speaker 1: and you could hear the crowd all cheering, you know,
Speaker 1: the warm up guys getting everyone and there's lots of noise,
Speaker 1: but she would get us all in the circle together,
Speaker 1: holding hands and closing our eyes and get it take
Speaker 1: us truth through this visualization of visualize the success you're
Speaker 1: going to have. You're going to do a great dance,
Speaker 1: and you're going to be you know, forget about the points,
Speaker 1: forget about the judges, forget about the crowd.
Speaker 3: It's all about you doing this great. Now. Visualize the
Speaker 3: start of your routine and you're getting right. Visualize the
Speaker 3: end of your routine. You're getting it right.
Speaker 1: And she took us through that every night, and it
Speaker 1: just created this most incredible feeling of positivity backstage amongst
Speaker 1: all of us. And I think that's one thing that
Speaker 1: the audience at home would love to realize, is that
Speaker 1: the sense of team backstage was so incredibly strong. So
Speaker 1: you've got people online saying, oh it was my favorite
Speaker 1: was robbed.
Speaker 3: Or my dance?
Speaker 1: My favorite answer was better than your favorite dancer. I
Speaker 1: think it would surprise people to know that the dancers
Speaker 1: backstage actually didn't really care about that at all. We
Speaker 1: just wanted to all be great for each other and
Speaker 1: great for the show, a great for the audience. So
Speaker 1: I think that's a surprising thing to know that it
Speaker 1: was very much a team backstage.
Speaker 3: Phil.
Speaker 2: I just want to say thank you so much for
Speaker 2: your time and your generosity with your time chatting with
Speaker 2: me this morning. I congratulations. It was so fun to
Speaker 2: watch you do this season. You were fantastic. And yeah,
Speaker 2: I think go and have a beer or whatever it
Speaker 2: is that you need to do to sell us.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I might have a couple this afternoon, I think.
Speaker 3: Thanks Ben, it's been fantastic to talk to you. I
Speaker 3: really appreciate it.
Speaker 2: H m hm