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Bindi Irwin Says Derek Hough Was Also Sick During ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Practice Last Week

By Treva Bowdoin
Published on: 06:30 PST, Nov 12, 2015

Bindi Irwin revealed that Derek Hough was extremely sick during last week’s Dancing with the Stars performance, but there’s probably a reason the producers didn’t focus on his health woes — Tamar Braxton was also ill, and her sickness took precedence because she actually had to be hospitalized.

Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough earned yet another perfect score for their Viennese waltz, to “Roses and Violets” by Alexander Jean, but it didn’t come easy — Derek had to come up with a challenging element to force the judges to award Bindi with those coveted 10’s. Last week, Julianne Hough admitted that the judges are actually being more critical of Bindi because she’s so talented. Derek dared them to give his partner anything less this week by having Bindi dance blindfolded during the beginning of her routine. However, dancing in the dark wasn’t Bindi and Derek’s only challenge Monday night.

During a recent interview with People, Bindi Irwin revealed that her pro partner was suffering from strep throat all last week, and working through the illness really took a toll on him on competition day. According to Bindi, the consummate professional managed to keep it together during their performances, but he was exhausted after the show.

“He turned ghost-white,” Irwin said. “All the color washed away from his face, and I could tell he wasn’t well.”

Bindi revealed that Derek was so weak that he couldn’t drive, so his father had to take him home Monday night. However, the pro is working hard to recover so that he doesn’t let Bindi down. According to Derek, he’s been fighting his illness with IVs filled “with fluids and vitamins.” He’s also taking antibiotics, relaxing in a sauna, and drinking plenty of water.

Bindi Irwin’s partner was shown struggling with his choreography ideas in this week’s Dancing with the Stars package, but his illness wasn’t mentioned. It’s possible that Derek was having such a hard time concentrating because he was feeling so miserable — according to Bindi, he looked like he was in so much pain that she constantly had the urge to tell him to just lay down and get some rest in the rehearsal room.

“His strength, dedication and determination was mind-blowing. He’s the greatest person to be around,” Bindi said.

Bindi Irwin didn’t just have to help her partner pull through one routine Monday night. Because there are fewer contestants on Dancing with the Stars, the remaining competitors are now performing two dances a night. For “Showstopper Week,” they were presented with a Team Challenge with a unique twist: the celebrity dancers had to dance with another celebrity for 30 seconds. Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough were paired with Alexa PenaVega and Mark Ballas, and they performed a Charleston inspired by the Chicago musical. In their pre-dance package, Bindi adorably said that she misheard what dance they were doing and looked up “The Carlton” instead (well, the dorky dance did help Alfonso Ribeiro become a DWTS favorite during Season 19).

Bindi transformed into Roxie Hart for the Chicago number, and Alexa was Velma Kelly. They earned a perfect score for their Team Up challenge, but the night ended on a low note for Alexa PenaVega when she was eliminated from the competition. Bindi and Derek were probably a bit relieved to see Alexa go because she was the only other dancer who earned two perfect scores on Monday night. However, she might be back.

Tamar Braxton had to drop out of the competition this week after finding out that she had blood clots in her lungs, and now People is reporting that Alexa PenaVega might get another chance to dance. If she does get reinstated, this will throw a kink into how next week’s elimination is handled. No Dancing with the Stars viewers were able to vote for Alexa this week, so the only score she has are all those perfect 10s.

You can see if Bindi Irwin will have to face off against Alexa PenaVega again when Dancing with the Stars airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

[Image via DancingABC / Instagram]

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