ABC/KELSEY MCNEALShock, relief and tears filled the backstage area of Dancing With the Stars tonight as Denise Richards' samba sent her packing.
"For a minute, I thought we had a shot at staying," Denise told E! News backstage after tonight's elimination show. "I’m really glad I got to do the dance over again and get better scores and a better reaction. It was better to go out on that note than last night."
Better scores indeed. Denise and her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, earned four more points in her dance-off against bottom two-er Holly Madison. "I never imagined anybody could improve in a day by [four] points unless you flat-out fell on the floor," says Maksim.
Find out what Chuck Wicks whispered to Julianne Hough, what made Steve-O say "for crying out loud" and what Jewel still does for hubby Ty Murray...
Chuck Wicks on Preparing for the Worst: "Once they had the first four names and we weren't in there, I whispered in [Julianne Hough's] ear, 'We may want to start practicing the dance a little bit.' "
Holly Madison on the Dance-Off: "It was really scary. I thought for sure that we were gone, out of the competition. I was really freaking out, so hopefully I won't be so scared next time."
Ty Murray on Jewel: Ty tells us that his wife and ex-competitor, Jewel, might be gone from the competition, but she's showing her support...with foot rubs!
Steve-O on Perspective: "This taught me not to take myself too seriously. For crying out loud, this is a dance-off. If your biggest problem is that you screwed up a dance routine or that you’re not on a dance show, I think everything is pretty good."
Steve Wozniak on Being Safe: "That was the most incredible surprise. I was setting myself up to be so happy doing my dance again. When that came, my world turned in an instant...I was crying. I still have tears a little."
Gilles Marini on Woz: "It's not shocking. Remember one thing: Many, many people vote. Maybe [Woz] has 70 percent of the overall vote, so who knows? If people don't vote, we are gone. Even if we have three nines, they still need to vote."
Lil' Kim on Denise: "I've met a totally different person than what we read or see [in the media]. Sometimes that press bothers her—she talked to me [about it]. She’s really a sweet girl."
Are you as shocked as Woz and Steve-O that they didn't get eliminated? Did Denise Richards deserve to go? (Mind if we gloat? We called it last night!)