Peta Murgatroyd and Donald Driver have made the top three couples on "Dancing With the Stars" and are headed for the finals in what has been the closest race for the mirror ball trophy in the franchise's 14 seasons. All of the 12 contestants were very talented and when it came down to the final four, it was anybody's game to win.
But Murgatroyd's beautiful choreography, and Driver's charm and swagger clinched a spot for them in the finale, where they will go up against William Levy and Cheryl Burke, and Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas. In a recent exclusive interview Murgatroyd talked about her first season on the show, going up against the champs and working with Donald Driver.
Peta Murgatroyd Is the Rookie Going Up Against the Winningest Champs.
Murgatroyd had always been a fan of "Dancing With the Stars." She was cast as the newest pro for this season of the series. She never expected to make it all the way through to the end as the new kid on the block.
And not only was Murgatroyd the "DWTS" rookie among the final professionals, in the semi-finals she went up against three-time champ Derek Hough and two-time winners Burke and Ballas. When asked how she felt about competing in that company she replied, "I feel very honored… But I really think that we have a shot of winning this, and I would love to get my first mirror ball. It's tough going up against these guys because they've done it so many times before, and they know exactly how everything goes, and they're the veterans of 'Dancing With the Stars.' But Donald and I are going to give it everything and just believe that we're going to get there.
But despite the stiff competition, the other pros are ultimately more than the enemies. She noted, "It's a healthy competition, and everyone wants to win, but we're all friends at the end of the day. I love Mark. I love Cheryl. I love Derek... We're going to go out and party and hang out with each other after this. So it's just a competition for another week."
Peta Murgatroyd Talks About Donald Driver.
For the semifinals, Murgatroyd and Driver performed a waltz and a samba scoring a total of 57 for the two dances. Murgatroyd recalled, "It was a really fun night. We just went out here and made sure that we did our best and had as much fun as possible. It's such a tough season. The standard is so high."
As for Driver, her celebrity partner and Super Bowl champ, Murgatroyd had nothing but praise. She professed, "It's one big laugh. I swear we have so much fun together. He's like a big brother. And he works really hard, and I'm grateful to have somebody that wants to be here and go on this journey with me. He's amazing. He's a great father and great family man, and then comes into me and does eight- to nine-hour days with me. So I couldn't ask for anything more. He's awesome."
To see if Murgatroyd and Driver take home the mirror ball trophy, tune in to the finale of "Dancing with the Stars" on Monday, May 21 at 8pm EST/7pm CST and Tuesday, May 22 at 9pm EST/8pm CST.
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