Every contestant that left Dancing with the Stars

Shaun brought flair and fun during the competition, with his partner Ash-Leigh Hunter.

He impressed the judges with his showmanship and technique, improving each week.

While hesitant to sign up, he decided to step outside of his comfort zone.

“I’ve never done anything like this before and I wanted to tick that box in the time I have left,” he exclusively told New Idea.

Although he found it challenging, he was happy he said yes.

His efforts sent him straight to the grand finale, where he was voted into the next round with Kyle.

Overall, Shaun was ecstatic to come second and commended his dance partner.

He also raised eyebrows when he had an onscreen pash with host Dr Chris Brown!

Felicity brought joy and personality to every performance during Dancing with the Stars.

While she is an expert with comedy, The Office Australia star also brought vulnerability to her foxtrot, which earned her a 10 during the season.

“These are the shots I wanted to wait til the day til I posted them,” she said about the performance on Instagram.

“All of mine and Aric’s friendship. All of our energy. All of our joy and love and 7 weeks of hard work went into this dance.

“It was more than moves and a costume. It was a feeling, a symbiosis, a synergy. Having to put down our goofiness and silliness to let this dance in was a challenge but when we did it, it felt like magic and dancing on a cloud. ☁️ I love this dance so much.”

Felicity went from strength to strength with her partner each week and went all the way to the grand finale, before she was eliminated.

AFL legend Trent Cotchin felt a bit out of his depth entering the competition, but he was determined to show everyone what he was made of.

Husband to Brooke and a father to three, he exclusively told New Idea he was hesitant to take part.

“It did take me a little while to say yes to doing this,” he admitted.

“But after discussing it with Brooke, I realised that, as parents, we’re always trying to encourage our kids to do things that they might find hard.

“And that vulnerability is something I try to lean into, especially since I retired from footy. So here I am.”

Partnered with Jess Raffa, he said he picked up steps quickly, but found performing challenging.

“Being creative and acting on the dance floor doesn’t come naturally to me,” he confessed.

“I found doing my first dance, the tango, incredibly challenging because you have to become a character. I wasn’t used to that at all. I also felt uncomfortable dancing with a woman who’s not my wife.”

Nonetheless, he made it to the grand finale before he was eliminated.

Michael swapped the news desk for the dance floor, and blew Australia and the judges away in the process!

Partnered with Natalie Lowe, who has competed six times, they performed a variety of genres.

He danced his way to the grand finale before he was eliminated.

“A huge thank you to everyone who sent wonderful comments and support along the way while Nat and I danced our way in the Grand Finale,” he wrote on Instagram.

“I truly loved the experience despite the nerves! Blessed to be invited onto the show and get to know many good people.”

Brittany entered the competition with a smile and laughs, determined to blow the judges away.

While she got off to a rocky start, she kept fighting, and even scored some tens in the competition!

Partnered with Monley, she danced her way to the grand finale.

Her final dance was an emotional one, paying tribute to her husband, who lives overseas.

It also included an element of sign language, because her brother and sister wear hearing aids and learned how to sign.

When Mia Fevola said yes to participating in Dancing with the Stars, she wanted to step out of her comfort zone and challenge herself.

She also holds the show close to her heart – she watched her mother, Alex, compete when she was 10, and her famous father, Brendan, compete two years later.

Partnered with Gustavo Viglio, she loved every minute of the “once in a lifetime” experience.

“I really just wanted to give it my all,” she exclusively told New Idea after her elimination just before the grand finale.

“I didn’t really look at it like it was a competition. I just wanted to better myself every week and try to give [it] everything I had, and my parents always kept telling me to try to take in as much as you can and really enjoy the experience.”

During the competition, she performed the foxtrot, rumba, and the cha-cha, but one other routine was her favourite.

“I loved all of my dances, but I think I’d have to say the Viennese waltz, just because my mum had done that dance to that same song that we did, and it was a really special moment for my family, and it was also our highest score,” she explained.

Along with her friendships with other cast members, she said her personal growth during the competition was her biggest takeaway.

“I’m not a performer or an actor in any way to perform, and I’ve always been quite an anxious person and I knew this was going to really challenge me physically but also mentally, to get over that voice inside my head that said I couldn’t do it, and that was the biggest achievement for me just to be able to get out there and finish the routine,” she said.

“It is something that I never thought I’d be able to do in front of a live crowd, and on national television and in front of the judging panel, it was all overwhelming, but I honestly still can’t believe I did it.”

Throughout the competition, Australia saw many sides to Harry Garside – his strength, vulnerability and passion.

Always determined to step out of his comfort zone and challenge himself, he had a blast throughout the competition.

However, he was eliminated just before the grand final.

While he was sad to leave the competition, a part of him was “happy” and relieved, because he was nervous about his grand finale routine.

“It was only something quite special,” he explained to New Idea, saying it was a dance to Coldplay’s hit Viva La Vida, which is meaningful between him and his dad.

“We were going to try and resemble this beautiful moment of my childhood between me and my dad,” he explained.

“But I had help with my good friend Jarryd Byrne, who used to be a present dancer on the show, who’s good friends with my dance partner Siobhan, and their choreography was unbelievable.

“But watching them two do it, then me do it, it honestly didn’t look good.”

Before the competition, he incorporated ballet into his boxing training, but he said it was one of the most challenging things he had ever done.

“I think being human, the one thing that connects us all is the fact that we all feel emotions,” he said.

However, having grown up watching the show, he told his manager that it was at the top of his list. Below that is SAS Australia and the Amazing Race Australia.

“I love the ability to dance and express because I think most ancient cultures, you look back in history, they had a form of dance or a form of song, which tells stories. And I think that I just got to experience that.”

He told New Idea he would do it all again in a heartbeat.

As for who he thinks will win the competition?

He’s backing Trent Cotchin and Brittany Hockley.

Osher Günsberg jumped at the opportunity to take part in Dancing with the Stars, but knew it was not going to be easy.

Having had three hip replacement operations and an osteoarthritis diagnosis, he exclusively told New Idea that it was excruciating.

“Physically, my body has been screaming,” he told us. “You work like an elite athlete during the training process, so I’d have a sauna and ice bath plunge every day after training to handle the pain.”

Despite this, he was determined to challenge himself.

Unfortunately, he was eliminated from the show just before the semi-finals.

His final dance did not come without controversy.

After being told by Craig that his performance was inconsistent and “completely erratic”, Osher challenged him to show him how it was done.

While the judge quipped it was not his job, Osher insisted. Craig also said it should have been simpler, but Osher disagreed, saying he preferred to do something complex.

Despite this, he took pride in his progress throughout the competition.

“Sriani is an extraordinary teacher, this is such an incredible human being to have the patience to deal with me…” Osher said of his partner.

“To get to where I was when I met her to tonight… all I wanted was to get through to this one. This song and to dance this way,” he continued.

Rebecca Gibney came onto the show as a beacon of light, ready to try something out of the ordinary.

Partnered with Ian Waite, she performed a variety of genres.

However, despite obtaining her highest score with her pasodoble, she was sent home.

Taking to Instagram after her shock elimination, the Packed to the Rafters star said it was a privilege to be a part of.

“I had the BEST time on @dancingau – I laughed, I cried, it hurt- a lot!” she wrote.

She then thanked her “brother from another mother” – Ian.

“Ian – you not only made me laugh every single day but you made me believe I could do it and you held my hand every step of the way and for that I will be forever grateful,” she continued.

All in all, she said the experience was incredible, and praised everyone, including the hosts, who bring the show to life.

She also thanked her competitors.

“I know I have made friends for life. Can’t wait to see who will take home the mirror ball! Love you all. 💞”

Karina went from the 7 News desk to the dance floor, ready to give it her all.

During her time in the competition, she danced with Andrey Gorbunov.

In her first week, she performed a Viennese waltz, and then a sizzling salsa in the second.

Then, she was eliminated.

It was a “completely different” experience from her usual job, she said, but it was a joy.

“We’ve had so much fun training, Andrey is not just a fantastic, highly qualified dancer, he’s such a great teacher, and he’s so patient, and he’s put together the most beautiful choreography for us,” she said.

“Thank you so much to the audience, it’s been a thrill!”

Olympic legend Susie O’Neill swapped the pool for the dance floor.

During the competition, she was partnered with Lyu and performed the tango and foxtrot.

Although she received lower scores from the judges, she was ready to embrace the opportunity.

Sadly, she was the first contestant to be eliminated from the dancing competition. Despite the sad news, she received a standing ovation from the crowd.

“It does make me feel good, but I’ve learned from this competition that I can’t feel good from external gratification,” she said.

“I’ve got to find it from within, which has been a massive lesson for me, because it’s been really hard to do something that doesn’t come naturally, to be honest.”

She said that dancing was not easy, and she wanted to do her best while she was there.

“But dancing’s hard, so it had to be about am I improving each week, and am I getting better, and am I moving forward, and it was hard,” she said.

“I’ve never cried so much, honestly, but in a good way.”

While she was happy that she joined the show, she said she did not realise how hard it was all going to be.

“Training for this has been Olympic level, no joke, I had no idea what I was signing up for,” she explained.