You could not wipe the smiles off Grant Denyer and Amanda |Garner’s faces after they won |Dancing with the Stars.By Rebecca Fraser
FORMER Hallam boy Grant Denyer’s quick feet ran rings around Australian world boxing champion Kostya Tszyu on Tuesday night when he claimed the latest Dancing With the Stars title.
The Channel 7 Sunrise weatherman and dance partner Amanda Garner beat Mr Tszyu and his partner Luda Kroitor as more than two million Australian television viewers watched on.
Mr Denyer and Ms Garner impressed the judges with their three routines, firstly scoring 36 for the foxtrot and then achieving a perfect 40 for their passionate pasa doble.
In their last performance of the evening the duo took to the floor with a 1920s-themed foxtrot, with Mr Denyer dressed as a pin-striped criminal and Ms Garner as a sexy jazz club dancer.
Despite a small glitch when Mr Denyer attempted to roll over his partner’s back, the duo still attracted a score of 33 and wowed the celebrity-studded studio audience.
The 28-year-old spoke to the News about his victory yesterday, and said he was looking forward to taking a much-needed break.
He said he had partied hard following the win and was running on pure adrenaline when he woke to read the weather and complete countless press interviews yesterday (Wednesday) morning.
Mr Denyer said it had been good to let loose and have fun after five months of heavy rehearsals, and despite being hotly tipped to take out the series four crown, Mr Denyer said he had not been overly confident leading into the final.
“The public vote is scary and unpredictable,” he said.
“We saw that when Jennifer (Hawkins) went out and then Toby (Allen) last week.”
Mr Denyer planted a surprise kiss on his girlfriend of five years during his performance on Tuesday and said he was now looking forward to catching up on sleep and spending more time at home with his partner.
“You put your life on hold for five months and train six hours a day. You do not get to see your friends, have a beer with your mates and you miss family birthdays and you do let people down. So I hope they also take a piece of this victory,” he said.
Mr Denyer said many of the dancers had been bogged down in the technical aspects of ballroom, and he and Ms Garner instead had wanted to have fun and put on a good and entertaining show.
“I think that is what got us through,” he said.
Mr Denyer said Mr Tszyu had tried to rattle him with mind games in the lead-up to the finale, but had been a gracious runner-up following the loss.
“He is super competitive,” he said.
“He has only been beaten once in his professional career and I like to think we are the second people to beat him, but thankfully it was not in the ring.”
Mr Denyer graduated from Eumemmerring College in 1995 after completing all his high school years at the Hallam campus.
