Drew Lachey is a triple threat: He can sing, dance (ballroom!) and... design your house? "I've always been into the home-improvement side of things. My wife and I have never had a designer," Lachey tells TVGuide.com. "If you walked in, you could probably tell." The former Dancing with the Stars champ will impart some of his decorating wisdom as host of the new HGTV reality series $250,000 Challenge (premieres Sunday at 10 pm/ET), which pits five neighborhood families against each other in weekly do-it-yourself remodeling challenges for the titular cash prize. See what else Lachey had to say about his new gig, helping his brother out around the house and why he wanted Shawn Johnson to win Dancing.
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Now that Dancing with the Stars has crowned a new queen and king, the question becomes: How do Kristi and Mark rank among previous winners? Does their landslide victory earn them greater regard, or does it speak to a lack of formidable competition?As a refresher, all those who have laid claim to the mirrored-ball trophy:Season 1: Kelly Monaco and Alec MazoSeason 2: Drew Lachey and Cheryl BurkeSeason 3: Emmitt Smith and Cheryl BurkeSeason 4: Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne HoughSeason 5: Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough Season 6: Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark BallasWho is your all-time favorite? Who truly showed growth and a never-tapped-into aptitude for ballroom dancing, then groomed it to flourish? Cast your vote here! And elaborate on your vote in comments.
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You can see the hurt written all over her face. Two-time Dancing with the Stars champ Cheryl Burke, 23, is battling her way back to normalcy after becoming the target of vicious print rumors that she and her married celebrity partner from Season 2, Drew Lachey, had an affair during this winter's national Dancing tour. "The story is completely false. And absurd," Burke quietly said after Monday night's performance show. "I'm just glad that I have friends that stick by my side and know the truth. They were with me 100 percent of the time on tour. I rode buses with [the other dancers, pro and celeb] and we hung out together 24-7."Some of Burke's peers know what she has been subject to. "I feel so bad for them because I know them personally and I know that nothing ever happened between them," says Tony Dovolani, who himself was the focus of tabloid rumors after his third-season partner, country singer Sara Evans, left the show in the midst of an abrupt divorce from her husband. Dovolani...
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A story in Star Magazine positing that former Dancing champs Drew Lachey (who is married) and Cheryl Burke canoodled during the latest winter tour has been shot down by Lachey's rep. "The story in Star is completely false," says the spokesperson. "It couldn't be further from the truth." (I know, right? Star publishing a whopper? I half expect the sky to be orange this morning.)More Dancing coverage:• Marissa Jaret Winokur to Have a Tiny Dancer of Her Own• Video Q&A: Steve Guttenberg and Monica Seles• Backstage at Dancing with the Stars: Ryan Seacrest?!• Poll: Vote for your favorite couple!
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I don’t know about you, but I got my wish Tuesday night. Boiled down to three words: Anyone. But. Marie. Seriously folks, if Dancing with the Stars’ trophy had gone to Marie Osmond the underdog — or rather, underdoll, as I like to think of her after Monday’s bizarre freestyle nondance that would have been better suited for the Island of Misfit Toys — I might even have joined the legions of disgruntled fans who tend to declare "I’m never watching again" after each cycle when their favorite doesn’t win.And then, of course, they return the following season, because once hooked on this deliriously entertaining reality contest, few can resist the spectacle of watching B-list celebs put on their dancing shoes with varying degrees of nerve, style and success. New stars tend to emerge from this process, and few have blazed with such effortless charm than the eventual winner, Helio Castroneves, whom I’d bet very few outside of my Indy-500-obsessed fami...
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