The five finalists who will advance to the Dancing With The Stars grand finale were revealed on Sunday night after a brutal triple elimination.
Fan favourites Ben Cousins, Adam Dovile and Shane Crawford have all been let go.
That leaves Lisa McCune, Ant Middleton, James Stewart, Nikki Osborne and Samantha Jade to battle it out in Monday’s final.
Footballer Shane was gracious in the face of defeat and profusely thanked his professional dance partner Ash-Leigh Hunter.
“It’s been a wonderful experience. Ash is an amazing trainer,” Shane said after he was eliminated.
He also paid tribute to his fellow cast members, saying: “It’s going to be a great final” and suggesting Ant could win.
Adam was also happy for his fellow dancers and grateful to his competition partner, Jess Raffa.
“I feel good and I had a great time,” Shane said, adding that he had “a huge thank you to Jess.”
On Sunday night, the five finalists heading into the Dancing With The Stars grand finale were announced after a brutal triple elimination. Nikki Osborne (right) is safe and headed to the finale
Ben, for his part, admitted that he found the process exhausting, but he wouldn’t change a thing.
“This week in training I ended the day whispering. I was so tired that I just whispered. I loved it,” said the former footballer.
Like everyone else, Ben only had kind words for his dance partner Siobhan Power.
The athlete also compared the show to his time on the field during his football career.
Adam Dovile (right) was sent home
Fan favorite Ben Cousins (pictured) was sent packing
Shane Crawford (left) was also eliminated
“When you go out and perform, you have a unique opportunity, but it’s been a good challenge,” Ben explained.
All five grand finalists stunned in their semi-final routines, with Samantha and Lisa earning a near-perfect score of 39 out of 40.
Judge Sharna Burgess was amazed and commented that it was “phenomenal, you two are setting the bar very high.”
Lisa slayed the Viennese Waltz, tying Samantha’s score, and judge Helen Richey said Lisa made the dance look easy.
Meanwhile, James secured his place in the grand final after a dance-off with Adam and Shane.
Nikki performed an exultant Quickstep, and all four judges commented on her significant improvement throughout the season, before awarding her 34 points for her performance.
Lisa McCune (left) has advanced to the final.
Samantha Jade (left) will fight in Monday’s final.
Ant Middleton (pictured) gave it his all and survived to fight another day.
Ant embraced his intimate side and earned 37 points for his vulnerable contemporary routine.
James scored an impressive 35 points as he raised the dead with his mesmerizing Paso Doble.
Meanwhile, Shane performed his Victorian-era Quickstep with aplomb, receiving a total score of 30.
Adam stunned with a sensual rumba, where his dance partner Jess Raffa exclaimed: “I’ve never been able to dance like that before on the show. I just let myself go. I was able to close my eyes and he’s a great leader.”
Ben gave it his all with an intense Argentine tango, but a score of 17 eliminated him from the competition before Adam, Shane and James battled it out to compete in the dance-off.
In the end, it was James who secured the coveted final spot after impressing with his Charleston.
On Monday, Lisa McCune, Ant Middleton, James Stewart, Nikki Osborne and Samantha Jade will battle it out for the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy.
Dancing with the stars cContinues tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 7 and 7plus
