ABC/ADAM LARKEY
As Dancing With the Stars premiered its tenth season Monday night, a teary Shannen Doherty took the stage as one of the new 11 contestants. The former Beverly Hills, 90210 bad girl showed a much softer side, and she had trouble holding back her emotions after a Viennese waltz with partner Mark Ballas.
So, why is this tough cookie so weepy about her Dancing turn? Well, as it turns out, the actress is in this competition to win it -- for her dad.
"My dad on Christmas had a massive stroke," Doherty told Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS FM radio show Monday. "And he lost his ability to speak and a lot of his mobility, and it was really rough. And when I mentioned Dancing With the Stars as a joke because I'm so nervous in front of a live audience, he got really excited and we struck a deal. And that's that he's going to work really hard on regaining his speech and mobility and I'm going to get over my fear of a live audience."
And that she did, as she got three solid sixes from the judges on Monday night's performance show.
"I had not seen him light up before," Doherty continued. "He'd been to a couple of my rehearsals, and he just got so excited about it. Now it's a negotiation tool. When he's feeling down and tired and he doesn't want to go to physical or speech therapy, I rush over to their house and say, 'Dad, look at me, I can go dance or I can stop. It's your choice.' And he gets up and goes and continues to work hard."
So who does Doherty think is her toughest competition? "I think Nicole [Scherzinger] is amazing. Not only is she really, really nice, but she's a dancer. I think Evan [Lysacek], being an ice skater, is going to do fantastic. I think Pam [Anderson] is just going to be sexy, sexy, sexy and so much fun to watch. The competition is fierce this year."
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