Stars align for Nikki Osborne

Nikki Osborne has been chasing her shot at Dancing with the Stars for some time, but it has always just slipped out of reach, until now.

“Back in 2016 when I filmed the Paul Hogan miniseries with Channel Seven, they had Dancing at the time. I was chatting to (Seven MD) Angus Ross, going, ‘Put me on Dancing with the Stars. I want to dance!’ And he said, ‘Alright.'” she tells TV Tonight.

“But then Channel 10 got Dancing with Stars, so I missed that.

“Then I moved to Channel 10 (for I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here), just as Dancing with the Stars moved back to Channel Seven.

“Now I’m back to Channel Seven, the stars have aligned, and here we are!”

The demanding world of competitive ballroom is a long way from stand-up comedy, but Osborne was ready for the challenge.

“What girl who grew up on a steady diet of Disney and Doris Day wouldn’t want to do a show like that?” she asks.

“The dresses are incredible”

“The dresses are incredible. You get fussed over like Honey Boo Boo. In my industry, in comedy, none of that exists. There is zero glamour, zero fanfare, other than the audience. When you walk out, it’s such a lonely experience surrounded by a bunch of cynical a***holes.

“So it was just really lovely to be part of a show where you’re actually putting on a show! It’s not like some cutthroat reality series where you’re just pitted against one another. You’re making a show. It was great, it makes you really fit, and you get a really good body.”

Osborne joins a star-studded season including Lisa McCune, James Stewart, Julie Goodwin, Ant Middleton, Ben Cousins, Samantha Jade, Nadia Bartel, Hayden Quinn, Shane Crawford, Adam Dovile, and Nova Peris.

Partnered with seasoned dancer & choreographer, Aric Yegudkin (who won the mirror ball trophy with both Ada Nicodemou and Emma Freedman), Osborne soon learned about the gruelling rehearsals for the show. Dancers learn all their season routines even before episode 1 is filmed.

“It felt like boot camp”

“There was a lot of crying to my poor dance partner, Aric, but he’s a ruthless training partner, so there was a fun dynamic. It felt like boot camp, going get yelled at all day. But then you’re really, really grateful when you walk out on that stage and you don’t suck (so much) that they yell at you the whole time,” she continues.

“Rehearsing the Quick Step definitely brought me the most amount of joy. My grandparents used to do the Quick Step, back in the day, at the police balls in Sydney. So maybe there was some genetic programming there, which meant I just naturally loved it as well.

“I reckon they give you the Rumba if they want to get you out of the competition”

“But the Rumba is the kiss of death. I reckon they give you the Rumba if they want to get you out of the competition. It’s like a slow, painful, vertical shag. That’s the best way to describe it.

“It takes a little bit of getting used to, being touched up every day for eight hours a day. We do some moves and I look at Aric and go, ‘Shouldn’t you take me out for a drink first?'”

This season also features judges Craig Revel Horwood, Helen Richey, Sharna Burgess and Mark Wilson while host Sonia Kruger is now joined by Dr. Chris Brown.

“It was trouble having Chris and I on the mic ad-libbing”

“Chris and Sonia were a great pairing. I worked with Chris before on the jungle, and we’ve kind of been friends ever since. So whenever we get in the box together, we have a lot of fun. In a way, it was trouble having Chris and I on the mic ad-libbing. Some naughty things came out, which I’m sure they’ll take out in the edit. But Chris was brilliant, Sonia’s a consummate professional, she knows how to run the show,” says Osborne.

“I really enjoyed Dancing. I mean, the judges didn’t share my joy, right? Let’s just say there’s a little bit of comedic argy bargy between me and the judges, unless that all has been cut out. Who knows?”

Nikki Osborne dances for The Carers Foundation.

Dancing with the Stars returns 7pm Sunday on Seven.