Even if producers hadn’t decided not to send anyone home on this week’s Dancing With the Stars episode, we sincerely doubt that Andy Richter and his pro partner Emma Slater would have been sent packing, despite their low scores that landed them at the bottom of the leaderboard.
The two struck an emotional chord with the audience this week as they danced a salsa to Harry Belafonte‘s “Jump in the Line.” The duo’s endearing routine was made all the more sentimental with the addition of Richter’s daughter, Cornelia, who performed with her father and Slater on Dedication Night.
While Richter and Slater are at the bottom of the leaderboard with 24 points going into next week’s show, the couple is a reminder that viewer votes can make all the difference.
We’ve seen low-rated duos tango their way to the finals. Might Slater be looking at another Bill Engvall season? As longtime fans of the show recall, Slater, in her first season (Season 17), was paired with the sitcom star/comic. Viewer votes – not scores – helped propel the charming couple to the finals where they finished in fourth place!
“When I stopped to think about it, I realized there are a lot of similarities,” Slater told TV Insider. “Bill is one of my favorite people in the world, and now, Andy is as well. He is well-liked and he and Bill are both funny, but they’re also genuine. They’re loyal. They have big hearts and they’re able to be open and vulnerable.”
Is Richter familiar with Engvall’s DWTS journey? “I am,” said the actor, deadpanning, “He’s an old guy that nobody thought would go very far.”
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba complimented Richter on Dedication Night, telling him she’s seeing improvement in his performances. “I thought that was great,” Richter says. “I’m happy to continue on and I’m happy to have [another] week behind me.”
“I’m trying as hard as I can to learn this thing that I didn’t know about however many weeks ago,” he added. “I’m starting from scratch and, of course, I’m not going to be as good as a lot of the people here are, but I am going to try to keep trying and I’m going to keep at it. It only makes sense that I’m going to get better.
“I’m very glad that [the judges] see the improvement that I’m making and I feel the improvement,” Richter continued. “Emma’s such a great teacher and such a great coach.”
Emma’s choreography has highlighted instances in which the camera captures Ritcher’s winning smile. How does she come up with those moments? “I don’t have to do very much,” Slater revealed. “If I tell Andy where the camera is and I tell him that ‘the character of the dance is this,’ and where the camera is, he knows what to do. He’s amazing.”
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC
For a more extended celebration of two decades of Dancing With the Stars, from exclusive interviews to retrospectives and must-see photos, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Dancing With the Stars 20th Anniversary special issue, available for purchase online at DWTS.TVGM2025.com and on newsstands now.
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