Backstage at Dancing with the Stars: Sharna Burgess Revealed Something That Will Totally Surprise You

The more you know: Give birthday boy Len Goodman a Mirrorball-trophy-inspired cake, and he’ll dish out 9’s and 10’s on Dancing With the Stars! Yes, this week was quite a change after last week’s head-scratching episode—and all is happy again in the ballroom.

Well, not all. It wasn’t so happy for the couple sent packing (spoilers!): Doug Flutie and Karina Smirnoff. Though the pair had their best dance of the season, it wasn’t enough to keep the former NFL quarterback in the competition.

Update: Backstage, Sharna Burgess spoke highly of Doug and revealed some little-known information about the cast favorite: “He would go to the studio and rehearse on his own on Sundays.” Even his partner, Karina Smirnoff, didn’t know he was there by himself. “I would see him there practicing on his own,” said Sharna. “He wanted this so much and look how good he was tonight! Bollywood! With all the intricate details! He killed it! Dougie is just the sweetest man. He loved being here. Honestly, he worked harder than anybody.”

Doug’s work ethic also reiterated what Sharna was missing from her partner, Antonio Brown. “[Practicing] 10 hours a week is not enough when everybody else is doing 30,” she told Glamour backstage. “We put in more hours this week, and it [showed]. It made it so much easier for me to do my job.”

Earlier in the evening, a rehearsal package showed that Antonio was upset that Sharna publicly admitted that Nyle DiMarco and Wanya Morris would probably be the final two. “I don’t regret saying that,” explained Sharna. “It’s my job to know how to motivate Antonio. He had to understand how far away from first place he was because now it’s crunch time. Good dancers are going home, and I needed the fire to be lit underneath him. For him to hear me say, ‘Yeah, we might not win it because these people are pretty much at the top,’ … look at him now! He’s putting in the hours; he’s putting in the time. He’s a better teammate for me, and that’s all I needed from him. So, it’s great. It needed to happen. It’s a necessary evil.”

Another necessary evil is the double elimination that will be taking place next Monday night. “I knew there was one coming,” laughed Sharna. “That’s fun. The same week we have double dances!” Jodie Sweetin was equally as nervous when we caught up with her post show. “It’s a little bit nerve-racking, but I felt like our performance tonight was really strong. As long as people vote, I think we should be good.”

It’s a miracle Jodie was even able to dance, given the nature of her injuries in rehearsal last week. “It was really weird because nothing left a permanent mark,” she said. “I don’t want people to think I’m a big ol’ baby, but I was beaten pretty badly. When the ambulance came, I was like, ‘I’m going to walk out to the car.’ They said, ‘No, you have to get [on the gurney].’ I was crying and in pain, but I was like, ‘Let’s just walk!’ I’m super tough like that, but they made me [lie down]. I was like, ‘Even if it’s broken, it’s fine. I’ll walk on it!’ But it doesn’t work that way.”

Not only was Jodie able to dance, but she also garnered some of her highest scores of the competition with her partner, Keo Motsepe. “It’s a huge compliment when they say it’s a great dance,” she said. “To get such high scores—especially from Len, who usually judges contemporary like, ‘I don’t know what the heck you just did out there.’—means a lot.” Still, considering Jodie’s natural ability, has she felt that the judges have been harsher on her than other contestants this season? “If anything, it makes Keo and I work really hard,” the Fuller House actress said. “I can’t go out there and necessarily skate by with a performance. We have to go out there and dance hard and dance well. I know a Len 10 for us would [be amazing], and I really do think we’ll get one this season. I know when we do though, it will be perfection. It will be a Len 10.”

In case you missed it, here’s a rundown of what happened during the dances last night:

Kim Fields and Sasha Farber: Kim Fields continues to impress with her insane amount of energy and talent. Even grumpy Len Goodman loved her dance! But, oddly, Carrie Ann Inaba said Kim’s energy was a little low. Someone give Kim an honorary trophy just for biting her tongue about that. Score: 24/30

Von Miller and Witney Carson: You should have heard the running commentary backstage about this one. Half of the room was in hysterics; the other half was debating what the dance was (it was a jazz). But make no mistake, Von Miller gave Michael Jackson’s “Bad” a badass effort, and the judges loved it. Score: 24/30

Jodie Sweetin and Keo Motsepe: Did ABC show us a promo for Survivor because that’s Jodie and Keo’s rehearsal package felt like. Seeing her get hurt not once, but twice, was downright painful, but what transpired on the dance floor more than made up for it. It was Keo’s best choreography to date, and Jodie’s most powerful performance. Score: 25/30

Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas: If you could get past the outrageously hilarious look on Mark’s face (but I hope you didn’t), then you saw one of the grooviest dances ever on DWTS. Channeling his inner Austin Powers, Mark choreographed one hell of a routine with the ever impressive Paige, who deserves a place in the finals. Score: 28/30

Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd: Nyle told the producers that he doesn’t see much competition for himself, but then he doesn’t have the smoothest dance. Unlike the last previous five weeks, his timing was off. The judges were critical—but their notes didn’t match the scores, which were still pretty high. Score: 25/30

Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy: Ginger said she might be juggling too much with the commute, GMA, DWTS, and raising a new baby (yeah, you think?). But I have all the faith in her, especially when she’s channeling Janet Jackson from her “Nasty” days (though she did look more like bad girl Sandy from Grease) The moves were great, but there wasn’t much in the way of dancing. Score: 24/30

Doug Flutie and Karina Smirnoff: Who would have guessed that Bollywood dance would end up being Flutie’s best (even if the crowd thought he was underscored)? What a strong dance to go out on. Score: 21/30

Wanya Morris and Lindsay Arnold: Dancing to *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” Wanya made himself an honorary member of the ’00s boy band with a stellar routine. The judges went crazy—but, to be honest, it wasn’t my favorite dance of Wanya’s. Score: 29/30

Antonio Brown and Sharna Burgess: Last week, Sharna said that Nyle and Wanya would probably be the final two standing (or dancing). Understandably, the competitive Antonio wasn’t pleased with his partner’s honesty. In all fairness to Sharna, she was right—but Antonio felt a bit betrayed by his partner’s lack of verbal support. Fast forward to this week: After a heart-to-heart with Sharna, Antonio made it clear that he is in this competition to be the last man standing. Did it pay off? Yes, though not without a few sticky moments. Still, it was his most impressive and energetic dance to date. Score: 27/30

Stay tuned—we’ll have backstage interviews coming soon!