Dancing With the Stars winner Phil Burton has gushed about the show’s “legendary” host Sonia Kruger. The Human Nature star revealed what the media personality is really like and why “everyone loves Sonia”.
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Phil describes the mix that makes Sonia who she is, both on and off screen, calling her “an absolute sweetheart” while also saying “she is the rudest and bawdiest person in the world”.
“She’s got a head full of dirty jokes,” he laughs, sharing her personality with 7Life.
“She’s hilarious, she’s so funny.”
The winner of Dancing With the Stars, Phil Burton and Ash-Leigh Hunter. Credit: Seven
The winner revealed that he has known the host for a long time, sharing that they first met when she would interview his band, Human Nature, on the red carpet or in sit-down interviews.
“She’s a good mate and we just had fun together and she’s always good for a really great laugh.”
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The proud friend went on to marvel at how “spectacular” she looks on air, remarking that the “camera just loves her”.
Giving insight into what DWTS was really like behind the scenes, Phil says the host was good at “keeping the mood light because she is so fun to be around”.
This light-heartedness was a welcome relief from the pressure of performing and the threat of elimination throughout the competition.
Phil Burton and Ash-Leigh Hunter win DWTS. Credit: Seven
“Whenever you’re with her you can’t quite take anything too seriously because there’s always just an element of fun in the room somewhere.”
In keeping with the happy nature created on set, the DWTS cast came together on Sunday night at the Oxford Hotel in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst to watch the finale.
“I knew seven weeks ago I was going to win or come second because they filmed two endings,” he says of the winner being himself or Home and Away star Emily Weir.
“It was a bit of a shock, I had spent all day yesterday convincing myself that Emily was going to win.”
Phil Burton and Ash-Leigh Hunter on Dancing With the Stars. Credit: Seven
“I’m so proud, my dance partner Ash-Leigh deserves it even more so than I do.
“So to be together watching the results, it was just a beautiful thing, to have that moment,” he continues.
“We watched it on the big screen and it was great to catch up with everybody and it reminded us again how much fun we had and how proud we are of ourselves.”
Looking back on his journey, Phil says that, initially, he just hoped to make it through the first elimination – until Ash-Leigh gave him some confidence by telling him he was “doing this really well”.
Outside of the DWTS team, Phil credits as his “number one supporter” his wife Justine who, with their children, would watch weekly.
Phil and Justine Burton. Credit: Instagram / Phil Burton
“When I was first offered the chance to be on the show, (Justine) was more excited than I was,” he recalls.
Burton praises Justine for shouldering more responsibilities at home and with the couple’s children, and for being trusting and supportive as he danced “chest to chest” with a stranger.
“I was out of the house a lot, concentrating on dancing, and even when I was at home, my head wasn’t in family mode,” Burton says.
“I was constantly thinking about dance steps when I was at home.
“(Justine) was keeping things going at home, knowing that I wasn’t really going to be physically or mentally there for about eight weeks.
“She was wonderful like that but also (gave) the support of just knowing the intensity of a situation like this.
Human Nature singer Phil Burton gets his Motown groove on during his Dancing With the Stars grand finale performance. Credit: Seven
“It’s so intense. I was put in a room with a stranger and told, ‘You know what, okay, you guys are going to be quite literally chest to chest holding each other for the next eight weeks, good luck’.”
Phil says if your real-life partner isn’t “secure enough and supportive enough… it could become really awkward”.
But he says Justine, and Ash-Leigh’s fiancé Ronnie, were 100 per cent behind them, even going in to watch rehearsals in the studio.
“I don’t think we could thank either of our partners enough, they deserve all the thanks in the world for all the support they gave us,” Burton says.
“DWTS was something unique and really fun and great to be a part of.
“So we’ve come away with all these brand new friendships that are going to last forever – and that’s really beautiful.”
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