"We worked so hard this week:" Dancing with the Stars contestant Elaine Hendrix opens up on her perfect score in the semi-final

Dancing with the Stars season 34 finale is highly anticipated, with five celebrity participants making it this far competing for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

One of the finalists, Elaine Hendrix, with her pro partner Alan Bersten, talked to Entertainment Tonight at the semi-finals of Dancing With the Stars, which aired live on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, on  ABC, about receiving their first perfect score of the season and reaching the finale.

As the 54-year-old actor is the oldest among the finalists, and even survived a rib injury in the middle of the competition when she had to be taken to the hospital urgently, and missed her final performance of the week as well.

Talking about the hard work she had to put in and now watching it getting paid off by reaching the top five, the Parent Trap star told ET's reporter Denny Directo how she felt after getting the news.

It felt so good. We worked so hard this week. We had extra-long rehearsals.

Here's what Elaine Hendrix and her pro partner Alan Bersten said on reaching the finals of Dancing with the Stars season 34

After their big night on Dancing With the Stars, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten were still celebrating when Entertainment Tonight caught up with them backstage.

The interviewer told them the world had just watched them “own both those dances” and asked how it felt to officially make it into the finale. Alan Bersten could not hide his emotion, saying simply,

“It feels incredible.” Hendrix then joked about the dramatic moment their names were announced, laughing, “They put us out of our misery. Thank you so much.”

Talking about that hard work and the milestone that they achieved, Elaine admitted how much it meant to her, saying that they had extra-long rehearsals and worked really hard for the week, adding:

Alan was so committed to teaching me every little detail, and then we ran it and ran it and ran it because the one thing that we wanted to do was come out here and enjoy it.

She said their main goal was not even perfection; they just wanted to perform without any stress, enjoying the performance, and thought that if they could do that, the results wouldn't matter anymore, as they could live with whatever happened.

The reporter pointed out how, despite playing iconic roles, this show had allowed viewers to see her real heart and soul. Elaine agreed to it and expressed her gratitude, saying 

I'm loving it so much, and I'm just so grateful to everyone. I could not have predicted what this journey would be like, and I'm stunned and grateful and just so filled with joy.

In another exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Alan said that Elaine finally got the deserving score in the semifinal of Dancing with the Stars season 34, adding:

Not that it’s not about the previous weeks, but she worked so hard this week, and she truly deserved that perfect score. That hustle is incredible. She didn’t miss a step, she attacked it. Just so much conviction and I’m so proud of her. I’m so happy.

Elaine, meanwhile, praised her pro partner just as strongly, saying, Alan has such a part of this, and he made her understand her full potential, adding:

I came into this saying that I was going to give it everything that I had, and this one right here [Alan] is so responsible for making me see what I can do and do what I can do way beyond what I have envisioned for myself.

The pair performed a Foxtrot to I Wanna Be Your Lover in the first round in the semifinals on the Prince Night, getting a score of 9 from all three judges, making her total 27 out of 30.

Carrie Ann Inaba praised her, saying that she deserves this spot so much, but told her that she could still push to the edge.

In round two, Hendrix and Alan performed an intense Paso Doble on When Doves Cry that was their breakthrough performance of the night, which earned them the perfect score for the first time on the season.

Dancing With the Stars season 34 finale is set to premiere on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, on ABC and Disney+ at 8:00 pm ET.

Stay tuned for more updates.