TV Scoops Archives

Biggest Loser: Families
Eliminated October 1: Ed Brantley

Did you learn anything new about your wife, Heba, from sharing this experience with her?
Ed: We’ve always been really close. We had an instant connection when we met. We know each other really well, but I think our experience together has just solidified our belief in that. You just know that we were meant to be together. If I lived in Scandinavia and she lived here, I probably would have found her somehow.

What was the biggest misconception you had about the show before you were on it?
Ed: I would see these guys crying and huffing and puffing, but what they show isn’t even a fraction of what really goes on as far as working out. I thought I was going to be able to waltz up in there and blow everybody out, which totally was not the case.

Why did you vote for the gray team?
Ed: Everybody else had voted for them anyway, even the people on their own team. So instead of ostracizing ourselves from the rest of the group, we went with them to save face. Don’t get me wrong: I love LT and Tom to death. Our vote wouldn’t have mattered anyway. It wouldn’t have helped other than maybe making us look good. But in retrospect, I wish I had gone with my heart.

You didn’t lose anything at the last weigh-in. Do you think you could have done more?
Ed: All I needed was that one pound — what a kick to the chest! It was upsetting, but at the same time, I knew how hard I worked that week. I just really gave it everything. The body does betray you sometimes. I may have lost a lot of fat weight that week, but I probably also gained a lot of muscle weight that cancelled out my weight loss. It’s kind of the same thing that happened to LT a couple of weeks ago. That next week that I got back, I dropped 10 pounds, so it was really just a fluke.

How hard was the decision to go and let your wife, Heba, stay?
Ed: I hated to leave. I felt like we really needed to be there for each other. We were relying on each other for a lot of things, but I just knew in my heart that this was the best thing. This was the best format for her to lose the weight. I knew it would be easier for me to do it at home. Not that it was easy — there were times at home when I wished I was at the ranch. So I had to bring the ranch to home, in my mind.

Were you able to get any updates on her after you left?
Ed: No. Every week that I didn’t see her, I was like “Yes! She’s still there!” Not to sound terrible, but I was really hoping that I didn’t get to see her for two more months.

What’s the biggest thing you learned from your time at the ranch?
Ed: The ranch taught me about being out of a comfort zone. My biggest problem was that I was in a comfort zone. You go to work for 8, 10, 12 hours a day and it feels really comfortable to come home and eat and watch TV. But I would take the comfort zone to work as well because I would be tasting things and snacking. It’s a hardwired thing. You have to constantly taste the food to make sure things are right and I might have taken it to the extreme. I was basically eating meals while I was working without realizing it or accepting the fact that that was what I was doing. On the ranch, I got on a real schedule of eating.

How did your job as a chef change as a result of being on the show?
Ed: Basically, if there’s something that someone has specially requested that is not a normal menu item, I will taste it but spit it into a napkin. My classics are all standardized, written-down recipes that I don’t have to taste. On some of my menus, there are a lot of healthier things, but the reality is that the people still want the mashed potatoes, the macaroni and cheese, the barbecued chicken. It’s difficult to be around it all the time, but it’s also really good therapy. Anything worth working for is worth keeping for the rest of your life, and I’m just going to have to deal with it. I just remember that it’s just food.

Do you ever splurge?
Ed: I’ll try to save it up 10 or 13 days and then have a day, not where I’ll blow it out and do anything crazy like eat a dozen donuts, but I might have a hot dog at the fairgrounds — just something to tame the demons. If that means I have to run an extra mile to do that, I don’t have a problem with that. I’ll run two just to make it really right. As long as you’re putting the right things in your body the other days of the week and you feel like having something that you love, if you’re willing to pay the consequences for it and do the work, then by all means do it.

How much have you lost in total?
Ed: When I got to the ranch, I weighed 335 pounds and today, I weigh 245 pounds.

What was your reunion with Heba like?
Ed: When you see it, you’re just probably not even going to believe it. You’re going to be doing back flips, or up in a chair screaming. That’s all I can say about it. We continue to work hard every day and we know that so many people are counting on us and looking to us for support just like we have looked to them for support. We’re obligated to ourselves and to so many people to do the right thing, to lose the weight and be the healthy people that we want to be.

Dancing With the Stars
Misty May-Treanor & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Eliminated 10.06.08 (Due To Injury)

What exactly happened to your ankle?
Misty: It was Friday night...we were doing stage rehearsal and our last run-through; we were doing the jive. I stepped back with my left foot and felt a pop and heard it. I thought I'd run into the judges' stairs. But. Karina and Rocco were there; I said to them, "Did I just run into the stairs?" I felt clumsy. They said I was far from it. So it's that feeling of getting hit from behind in your foot by a baseball bat. Then I couldn't put weight on it. I went to Cedars-Sinai and the doctor there evaluated it and said it was a ruptured Achilles tendon. And then I took an MRI.
Maksim: Yeah, I knew as soon as it happened, we actually both knew right away. We are both athletes and have been around injuries all our lives, so through both of our injuries, we can make diagnoses the second they happen. I was hoping she had popped a ligament and not her Achilles ... but she is strong and has access to the best in the field, so she will be back.

We were sad to hear you won't be able to continue.
Misty: My dancing days are over right now. At least for six months. But you know what? That gives me time to visualize and to mentally just work ...
Maksim: I am devastated and I didn't know that about myself. It's been a very emotional few days.

Had you ever had an injury like this in sports/volleyball?
Misty: You know, I've [had knee injuries before]. That was a hard process, coming back from that, but I came back from that even stronger. So I'm going to stay very disciplined in my rehab and ... this is just one of those things that you have to be patient with. You can't try to move too fast, but I feel I'm going to be okay.

Do you want to come back to the dance floor?
Misty: I do! Now that I got a taste of it. I felt this could be [my] breakout week, especially with the jive. We'd been working so hard. Just with the small taste I got out of it. After I get back from this, I want to take classes [and dance again].
Maksim: It would be the thing for her to do - to rehabilitate and come back the season after next. I think that would be a great story and I would be proud to be a part of that.

Maybe you could return for another season, once recovered?
Misty: If they asked me back, I would love to come back. I feel I got the short end of the stick; I felt it ended earlier than I wanted it to. If I had the opportunity to come back, I'd ask Maks to go through it with me again. I felt I was just starting to get it! I was just starting to get what my body was supposed to be doing. I'm still going to support the show. I love the show. I love what it's about. I'm going to support [the other celebrities] and now I can vote!
Maksim: This is like when you get eliminated. The only difference is it sucks! I'd rather be eliminated, so you can make your peace with it. But I have a lot of stuff to do at home that I'd have missed had I been on the show. I have a competition event in October that I can attend - which is amazing. I'll definitely be back for result shows.

The Amazing Race
Anthony and Stephanie
Eliminated October 5

Where do you think you went wrong during the second leg?
Stephanie: The whole situation with the taxis really threw us off. One was broken down and then our next one got lost. That really messed up our entire leg of the race, which got us eliminated.
Anthony: The show really depicted the last challenge as our downfall, but the fact is that getting bad cabs is what put us behind. We spent the rest of the time trying to catch up to the other teams.

Anthony, I give you credit for actually trying to push a stalled cab.
Anthony: I guess that was the wrong move, though.

When I met you in LA before the race, you said your motto was to be calm, cool and collected. Do you think you managed to maintain that?
Anthony: I think we were a little too calm. We didn't realize how quickly we could be eliminated. We were waiting for a challenge where we could really surpass the teams, but the real race was the rush that we had to be in between the roadblocks and detours. We were a little too laid-back in the first leg when we finished ninth. We caught up with everyone but ended up falling behind again.
Stephanie: We weren't that relaxed. We just had such anxiety about being in the back of the pack the whole time. We were just trying to catch up and we did when we got on the plane. As soon as we got out of the airport in Brazil, though, our strategy fell to pieces.

How did the race affect your relationship? Are you still together?
Stephanie: Yes we're still very much together and in love. The race enhanced our relationship, without a doubt. I was surprised at how well we worked together. We do bicker daily. We're very opinionated and strong-willed, so we're surprised that we got along so well. I guess it was because we were on the same team. We found out in our relationship that we work really well together, which is great.
Anthony: I wasn't really surprised. I knew that in order to win the race we'd have to work together as a team. Bickering and fighting would have slowed us down. We really didn't even have any opportunities to get irritated with each other.

Is there an engagement in your future?
Anthony: I think so. We both went on this adventure to give our relationship a little boost. We wanted to get out of our everyday routine and we definitely did that. The race was short-lived, but we spent the rest of the month in sequester, which was a great vacation. I think it helped out enormously. We're looking forward to our future together. I don't see any reason why we wouldn't be married in the future.

Biggest Loser: Families
Eliminated September 30: Jerry Skeabeck

What did you think when you found out only one team member - you or your daughter Coleen - would be going home this week?

That was kind of crazy. We concentrate so hard on making the team effort and when that popped up, it was a total surprise. It was highly stressful to make that decision. I was kind of in the mindset that she needed to stay more than I did. She was living her dream - she's a "BL" junkie. But she was hell-bent on me staying there. So we had some discussion, big time. The crazy thing about this is that I have a son who's a marine and he's overseas. It breaks your heart when one of your kids is away from you. To have to leave your kid? Believe me, as a dad, it was real tough.

You had gained two pounds at the last weigh-in, even though you stayed under your calorie allotment and you exercised as much as you could. What was your reaction?
It was complete shock. A lot of things were explained to me afterwards about how the weight gain occurred. When I tore my hamstring, a lot of blood ran down into my leg, which caused me to retain water weight. My right leg had swollen over three inches larger than my left leg. It took quite a while for it to heal, to the point where I'm running today.

What did you learn about your daughter from sharing this experience with her?

I learned that she doesn't make her bed every day like I trained her. But other than that, you know something? I knew going in there and I know this with all my kids, they're great kids. God has really blessed me good. Any parent listening knows, you can lead a horse to water but you can't always make it drink. I got pretty lucky. Being out there with Coleen, watching what she did on her challenges, how intense she was with her workout, it was a tenacity I knew she always had.

Were you able to get updates on her after you left?

Not really. I was pretty much in the dark, for the most part. Every so often, I had a phone call with Dr. Huizenga and he would just say, "Your daughter's amazing." And I would just say, "Give her my love, doc."

Did you have any doubt that you'd be okay at home, without the support?

It's an issue, but it's not an issue, because it's like this: you're going to get your health back. It's like a war: you've got to win it. Failure was not an option.

What's the biggest difference in your body?

I noticed that when I got on my motorcycle, it didn't say "one at a time." The physical capabilities I have now, I haven't had for 20 years. I went out there on four blood pressure medicines. I'm medicine-free now. The sleep apnea caused a heart arrythmia over the years, and I don't have any of that anymore. I just wake up and look at this good-looking guy in the mirror every day and smile.

How much have you lost?

I started at 380 pounds and I'm at 298 now. I'm going day by day, and whatever it brings me, that's what we're working at. The doctors and trainers are looking at between 220 and 240.

Biggest Loser: Families
Tom Desrochers, Sr. and Tom "L.T." Desrochers Jr.
Eliminated September 23

What adjustments did you have to make to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
L.T.: It was tough when we came back home. You don't have any temptations on the ranch, but as soon as you get back, you have all the temptations come back. For me, all of my friends drink and go out to eat every night. So it was tough to go out with them and say, "No, I'm not going to eat this" and make a healthier choice. At the ranch, all you had to do was eat right and work out, so incorporating that back into the lifestyle was a tough transition. But after the first couple of weeks, it kind of fell into place. I used to go out with my friends every night, so I sat down and said, "Guys, don't think I'm ignoring you, but I have to get healthy." I just stay clear of the temptations. I cut it out.

I work at night, and there were no healthy alternatives. So for me, the biggest change is that I bring my own food. I break it up into four or five different snacks a night. I just had to learn how to make that change and realize what was healthy.

Tom: Now, I've learned what is good and not so good. I go out and do the shopping with my wife, so I buy the stuff that I'm supposed to be buying now and everybody's eating healthier. My wife has lost 27 pounds also, so it has affected the family.

In week one, you used the extra vote to save Heba and Ed from the orange team and then Heba and Ed voted against you. How did that feel?
L.T.: We would have liked to have the favor returned, but it was nothing personal. They did what they had to do to stick around. As much as it sucked that they voted us off and didn't keep their word, it's part of the game.

Tom: Pretty bluntly, it sucks to be gone so early. I feel that L.T. and myself worked extremely hard, but the numbers didn't fall in our favor. I did as much as I could and L.T. was at the gym most nights until one o'clock in the morning. So I don't know what happened. It just didn't work.

L.T., have you quit smoking?
L.T.: I stopped the day Jillian came to Boston. And after the third day at the ranch, something in my head just clicked. I realized how bad it screwed up my system. It's not something I plan on doing ever again.

L.T., was it a surprise to be the only contestant to gain weight the second week?
L.T.: I'll tell you what, it was tough to gain three pounds in the second week! I worked harder than probably most of the people on the show, the second week. I was in that gym until one, sometimes two o'clock, because I knew it was the toughest week. Jillian upped my workouts and my calories so I could do a harder workout. At the end of the week, I was confident. When the plus-three [pounds] came up, I was shocked, angry ... a mixture of everything. I couldn't believe it. But it happened. The scales don't lie.

What was the most difficult thing to see about yourself, watching the show?
L.T.: There were actually two things: when Dr. Huizenger showed us our chronological age, as opposed to the age of our body. It was tough to see that I have the body of almost a 50-year-old when I'm 23. And then, the reality about the smoking kicked in when Jillian was putting me through things that I should have been able to do, that I used to be able to do with no problem.

What did you really think about Jillian?
L.T.: There were two different Jillians: in the gym, where she's kicking your ass, and in the house, where she just talked to you. Not many people liked her inside the gym, but I was used to that. In football, that's how our coaches worked. We were always getting yelled at. It worked for me. She did a lot to help us.

Tom: You can pretty much keep Jillian. I didn't care too much for her. I understand she has a job to do, but she really doesn't treat people like adults. She treated most of us like children, which I didn't take too kindly to. It's kind of like a stinky pig: They pretty it up for the camera, but the mouth is incredible. I have to thank her because she probably saved my life, but I didn't care too much for the method in which she did it.

How much weight have you lost so far?
L.T.: I'm down 92 pounds.
Tom: I'm down 77 pounds.

Are you worried about keeping the weight off?
Tom: I'm not worried about it at all. For me, it's really simple: Before I went on the show, I was taking nine pills a day. Now, I get up and look at those bottles that are still on the shelf in front of me and I don't take any medication at all. If I want it to stay that way, I have to keep the weight off. That's it. I keep those bottles in front of me. Every morning when I wake up, that's my motivation to do the right thing.

L.T.: I'm younger, so after I hit my goal I don't think I'm going to go back. I see all of my uncles and cousins who are overweight and have big health issues. We're going to try to help them after we help ourselves. We have our work cut out for us, so I don't think you'll see either one of us going back to those unhealthy styles of living.

Survivor: Gabon
Paloma
Eliminated October 2

What was your first impression of Africa?
Paloma: Gabon is beautiful. It's untouched land. Everything is so green - I loved it. It's a very scenic, beautiful place.

The Kota tribe dominated the first six days. What happened?
Paloma: Kota's a very physical tribe. We have a lot of strong athletes. As far as the physical challenges were concerned, we dominated the whole way. We screwed up the puzzle. I feel like the tribe focused so much on the physical aspect of the game that they didn't take into account how important the mental aspect was, and that was our downfall.

Why did you and Ace not get along?
Paloma: Ace and I are like night and day. We have completely different personalities. There's just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. He's a very arrogant person. He knows he's arrogant and I just don't deal well with cocky people. He thinks he knows everything and I just could not stand him, especially in the circumstances we were in. Not having food or water really magnified my dislike of him.

Why do you think he campaigned to send you home?
Paloma: There are a few reasons, including that I was one of the weaker members of the tribe. I definitely wasn't as physically fit as some of the Kota members. But there were other people who weren't physically fit, either - Sugar was one of them. But Ace took a liking to Sugar [Jessica], and they were together most of the game. So I just feel like I was the only one who really voiced my opinion about not liking him. And whenever he said something that I felt was inappropriate or annoying, I wasn't one to hide my feelings. I was very blunt about how I felt about him. I put a target on myself.

Speaking of Sugar, did you have any idea that she had the immunity idol until you watched the episode?
Paloma: I didn't really feel that she was capable of finding it, but I guess she was. Sugar's a very emotional person. She cries a lot. So, when we talked about while she was gone, we just assumed she was sitting in exile crying, instead of actually looking for the idol. She surprised us all. Given the way she was acting for nine days, we thought for sure that she'd be a wreck.

How hungry and tired were you?
Paloma: I was starving. All I wanted was a cheeseburger! You watch Survivor on TV and think it's easy. But, when you're actually there, it's a completely different story. I love food. And not having it really did affect me. The lack of sleep really got to me, also. It was cold and I was wearing a dress and sleeping on a hard floor. All of that took a toll on me. I was getting weaker and weaker by the minute while I was out there.

Any regrets?
Paloma: In retrospect, I feel that maybe I should have kept my opinion of Ace to myself. I guess I separated myself from the tribe because I didn't like him.

Who are you rooting for now?
Paloma: I'm rooting for Kelly because she was the most legit person out there. She was a good friend. I love her. Bob is an amazing person. I don't think he's rubbed anyone the wrong way. He's just a good man with good values and morals and a good family, so I'm really rooting for him. And also Charlie's one of my favorites. He's really funny and I love him.

The Amazing Race
Anita and Arthur
Eliminated September 28

Did you think you might be at a disadvantage physically after being the last team to make it up the stairs at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum?
Anita: No, not really. Phil said we had to wait until he put his hand down to start, and so Arthur and I were watching his hands and everybody took off.
Arthur: Yeah. We looked up and everybody was already running!
Anita: That was a surprise.

What was your first impression of Salvador, Brazil?
Anita: It was just incredible. We were surprised at the heat. Up in Oregon at that time it was around 55 degrees, so it was a real temperature difference for us to adapt to. But, Salvador was so colorful. We loved it. One of the memories I'll always cherish is seeing the Amazon from the airplane. I've never seen anything like that.

Where do you think you went wrong?
Arthur: I don't think you can say we went wrong. As Anita eluded to, we trained in 55-degree weather, which was no match for 95-degree weather. Anita: With 100 percent humidity!
Arthur: It was so hot down there. And the other thing is taxis. You don't realize watching the show how important transportation is. We had one wonderful taxi ride, and then the ride out of the jungle got stuck in traffic. That helped put us behind.

When I met you in LA. You compared this race to a roller coaster. How does climbing down a cargo net more than 240 feet in the air compare to a coaster?
Anita: It was really cool. We were way up there! But, my shoes had slits in them and they kept getting caught in the net. I had trouble getting my foot out of the ropes. But coming down that net was incredible.

Was the race at all what you expected it to be like?
Anita: We didn't really expect the adrenaline rush. It's so amazing. Anita and I kept turning to each other and saying that we felt like we were floating through a dream. We were just going and going and going, and we didn't expect that at all.

Any regrets?
Anita: Just that we didn't go on to the next leg. [laughs] But, no, we have no regrets.
Arthur: We'd do it again at the drop of a hat.

Your family must be pretty proud.
Arthur: Oh, they loved it. Coming off the mat, we may have felt like we let some folks down, but that's not true at all. We knew that we were being supported and had an incredibly loving family.
Anita: We just wish that all of them could have been there with us!

What's next for you? Are you going back to the beekeeping?
Anita: Oh yes - back to the bees and blueberries.

Survivor: Gabon
Gillian
Eliminated September 25

Q: What was your first impression of Africa?
Gillian: I loved it. I was raised in South Africa, but I've never been to that part of the continent. It was amazingly beautiful and remote, which was awesome.

Q: Were you at all worried about being the oldest player in Africa?
Gillian: I was definitely worried. I was concerned that people would think that I was going to be old and useless, and that's why I tried to play the game the way I did. It actually turned out that I was playing against my own tribe mates, who were concerned about my abilities.

Q: How did you manage to stay so positive?
Gillian: I was surprised that I beat Crystal and Susie up the hill during the first immunity challenge. I thought Crystal would be way up ahead of me. So, that kind of boasted my spirits. I realized that I was in a tribe that had such extreme negative vibes. We were just awful. Even though I knew that we really sucked and were awful, I figured the only way to do this was to try to stay positive. My nature is normally to be positive and upbeat and try to encourage people But, hey, I just couldn't sink into the negative attitude. But, sadly enough, I think that's part of what killed me.

Q: Jeff said your Fang tribe was a "complete disaster" and in "denial." Do you agree with him?
Gillian: I absolutely agreed with him that we were a disaster, because we were. I was obviously the oldest and had the hardest time in land challenges. If it had been a water environment, it would have been a totally different picture for me. So, yeah, I was a disaster on land, but I certainly wasn't as bad or worse than some of the others. As for being in denial, I don't think so. I presume that everybody knew we were pretty bad. We all knew it.

Q: Did you have any idea that the tribe planned to vote you off?
Gillian: I was not at all blindsided. It was extremely clear to me all day that people thought that I should be the one to go. I think that Crystal was a big instigator in trying to get rid of me. She did not like me at all and I knew it. It was very clear all day that most of the tribe wanted to go with me. I was bummed that I wasn't given a chance to show what I'm capable of doing. I didn't think that I was the only dead weight on the Fang tribe.

Q: How hungry and tired were you during your six days in the game?
Gillian: I hate to say it but I really wasn't hungry. It wasn't that bad. I also wasn't that tired. I'm used to not having much sleep. I was in my element. I was really thirsty but otherwise I felt great. I was totally enjoying it. Oh, and I lost 12 pounds, which was also great.

Q: Any regrets?
Gillian: My biggest regret was picking Crystal to join the Fang tribe. That was my doom. And the other regret is I'm really sorry that I didn't out her in the game. It could have really changed things for me if I let people know she was an Olympic runner, but I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't screw her game, I guess.

Survivor: Gabon
Michelle
Eliminated September 25

What was your first impression of Africa?
Michelle: It was surprisingly cold.

How did it feel to be the last one picked for a tribe yet the first female up the hill during the first immunity challenge?
Michelle: I thought it was really funny that all of these out-of-shape older people were being picked before me. It was very shocking and all the more absurd when I was the first one up the hill. Everyone was being pushed up the hill by their butt cheeks, which was hilarious.

At the first tribal council, Jeff said your Fang tribe was a "complete disaster" and in "denial." Do you agree with him?
Michelle: I completely agree. Fang was in denial. It wasn't until the second episode that they realized that they sucked and needed to do something about it. Unfortunately, it was too late for me. I've been boxing for quite some time and I know that you can never get better unless you accept that what you're doing is wrong. You can't move forward until you accept that you're not perfect and need to fix things. They were just playing it safe early in the game, and were worried about stepping out of line. I was honest with everyone; they knew that I thought that we sucked.

Elephants were roaming all around your camp — were you ever scared?
Michelle: No. I didn't really get to see anything. I heard the animals but was eager to see some real wildlife.

You complained about being bony and cold. How hungry, tired and miserable were you during your three days at camp?
Michelle: The hunger didn't bother me at all because traveling there I'd lost so much weight. I was already used to not eating so much, but I was thirsty a lot. Although, it was the cold that did me in. At night I would get quiet because I was freezing. It was horrible. I probably would have been more accepting of people I didn't like if I wasn't freezing, too.

How much weight did you lose during your time on Survivor?
Michelle: I'm normally between 112 and 115 pounds and on the show I was probably about 105 pounds.

Any regrets?
Michelle: Of course, if I could go back I would do things differently. No one's proud of being the first one voted off. I can't say that I don't regret doing some things because I ended up being the first one to go.

Who are you rooting for now?
Michelle: Watching the episode last night was the first time I got to see the Kota tribe. Now I'm routing for Paloma. That girl cracked me up. She's super-cute and hilarious, so I'm hoping she stays on the show for quite some time.

What's next?
Michelle: I'm boxing on pay-per-view in January during Super Bowl weekend. So, I'm training for my fight and working on podcasts, which will be available for download.

Dancing With the Stars
Ted McGinley & Inna Brayer
Eliminated September 24

Was getting eliminated harder than you thought it would be?
Ted: No, I thought it was inevitable, and last night I had a feeling, as I don't have tech-savvy fans who text. I am an old dude and I represent the men, and those are the ones who are not going to sit up and vote. I think they are happy to have me back on the couch where I belong.

What will you miss most about the show?
Ted: Inna, for sure, and everyone backstage because it is hysterical — that is where the cameras should be. Inna is 21 years old and has the patience of a saint. I'll miss the costumes, too, but most of all, Inna, because she is my buddy. It's one thing to teach someone to dance, but to have to teach a lug like me has to be trying. And I wanted America to meet her because she is phenomenal.

What was your highest point?
Ted: Just completing the foxtrot on that first night when I was expecting complete disaster from the judges and having Len start off saying something really kind. The whole time we were rehearsing it, all I kept saying was I really wanted to get my form right for Len, and when he rewarded me for that, I felt so exhilarated. I was proud of myself.

What will you take away from this experience or what have you learned about yourself?
Ted: I learned I am a crappy dancer [laughs]. I have two young boys and it's hard, this is about the doing — getting up off the couch and saying, "I will take a chance." When you do it, it's about the taking a chance, and the doing is the win. I will never be a great dancer, but I tried.

Will you dance again?
Ted: Well, we had already started rehearsing our next dance, so I know I'll be at home in front of the mirror practicing my moves. I will be sorry to see that go. But secretly, I am a little relieved! Next, I fly to Toronto to start work on The Note 2 for the Hallmark Channel, with Genie Francis. If I'd been around in November, I would have had to learn more than one dance — and I was already starting to go out of my mind.