Dancing With The Stars contestants left in total disbelief as elimination is derailed by surprise announcement

The contestants on Dancing With The Stars were in for quite a shock when a surprise revelation was made during the last minutes of Tuesday’s episode. 

Celebrities and their professional dance partners took part in Dedication Night for week five – where stars had the chance to dedicate their performance to someone special in their lives while also being joined by them on the dance floor. 

The night was not only emotional for the contestants, but the audience and judges were also left in tears more than once. 

Ten couples were left remaining at the start of the episode – with Hilaria Baldwin being the last celebrity to be eliminated from the ABC competition series last week. 

Hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro also shared that the show reached a major milestone in receiving over 50 million votes. 

But as the couples lined up on the dance floor to learn who would go home, it was suddenly announced that everyone was safe and would be moving on. 

Some of the stars that competed on Tuesday included Zac Efron’s brother Dylan Efron, Steve Irwin’s son Robert, Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, Parent Trap actress Elaine Hendrix and media personality Alix Earle. 

Others that are also moving on to next week are comedian Andy Richter, Whitney Leavitt, Jen Affleck, Scott Hoying and Danielle Fishel. 

The contestants were left in total disbelief when it was revealed they would all be staying – and stars fell into shocked embraces with their dance partners as confetti flowed down around them. 

Others could be seen jumping up and down as the live audience cheered and applauded loudly in the background. 

Hough explained, ‘We couldn’t send anyone home tonight on such a special night. All of the scores and and all of the votes from tonight will carry over to next week.’ 

Fans of the show quickly flocked over to X to share their thoughts over the revelation, with one penning, ‘Ok everyone’s reaction to all of them being safe was incredibly wholesome #dwts.’ 

Another wrote, ‘I haven’t watched dwts yet tonight but i think it was a good call to not eliminate anyone. 

‘Obviously the tone of the night makes it hard to but also i feel like it’s hard to do scoring when you have all the special guests dancing too,’ they added.  

‘What do you mean they sent nobody home on Dancing with the Stars tonight,’ a viewer typed, and one said, ‘WHAT!!!!! NO ELIMINATION!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! #DWTS.’ 

Another predicted, ‘Probably double elimination next week,’ and a fan added, ‘that means a double elimination next week oh GODDDD #DWTS.’ 

‘THANK GOD!!! It would have been so rude to send someone home this week tbh. I know that’s the show but you know,’ one commented.   

An X user wrote, ‘I have a feeling a judges favorite was supposed to go home hence the sudden “no one is going home” change.’ 

‘I may have cried a little. How do you send anyone home after that,’ a fan said and another added, ‘They couldn’t send anyone home tonight yet they sent someone home on dedication night last year.’ 

Robert Irwin – the son of late zookeeper Steve Irwin – took part in emotional performance which was dedication to his mother Terri. 

He performed a contemporary dance to the song You’ll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins, which moved the judges to tears. 

His mother joined him during aspects of the routine which ended with the pair sharing a loving embrace. 

The pair remained emotional as the judges – including guest judge Kym Johnson – were moved to tears. 

At one point, Bruno Tonioli hugged Steve Irwin’s son as the judges offered their critique of the performance. 

Afterwards before receiving the scores, Robert said, ‘It’s for all of the moms out there who don’t get the recognition they deserve. 

‘This is for the single parent who works so hard everyday to put one foot in front of the other. It’s for anyone who has lost someone, who feels lost. Keep going. And if you can, go call your mom and tell her that you love her.’ 

Irwin and his dance partner Witney Carson received a score of 35/40. 

Dylan Efron also took to the stage and dedicated his performance to both his and Zac Efron’s younger half-sister Olivia.  

Efron and his dance partner Daniella Karagach performed a contemporary routine to Rewrite The Stars – with Olivia also joining in on the stage. 

‘I wasn’t expecting to be a big brother. She’s five, and I’m 33. But immediately I was inseparable from her,’ he explained during a rehearsal video. ‘She’s everything to me. I want to show her to live her life with confidence.’ 

The TV personality also gave a shout out to his brother Zac who has ‘always taken care of me and he did things that were so selfless, I want to be that to Olivia.’ 

Olivia also gushed about her older half-brother Dylan and said during rehearsals, ‘I just like being with Dylan, he’s my best friend, and I just feel like I’m free with him.’ 

The siblings shared sweet moments during the routine as they danced to Rewrite The Stars – which notably was also sung by Zac. 

Following the performance, the judges gave him and dance partner Daniella a score of 36/40. 

Danielle Fishel took part in a performance that brought back nostalgia as she dedicated her performance to her former Boy Meets World co-star William Daniels. 

She reflected on working with Daniels on the show in the past and expressed, ‘It was intimidating, but Bill who had already won two Emmys treated me like I deserved all the respect in the world as a fellow actor.’ 

The actress added, ‘It’s been over 30 years since we met and I know how proud he is of me. He really means a lot to me.’ 

Daniels also took part in a video call with Fishel and her dance partner Pasha Pashkov. 

The Knight Rider alum told Fishel, ‘I’m very proud of Danielle for all she’s doing. It’s a pleasure watching you.’ 

Daniels appeared on the stage on a set decked out as a classroom as Fishel and Pashkov performed a jive to the track Boy Meets World by Twenty Cent Crush featuring Phil Rosenthal. 

The routine came to an end as the pair danced back over to Daniels who was sitting at a desk. 

After receiving constructive criticism from the judges, Fishel and Pashkov garnered a score of 29/40. 

Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles dedicated her performance of the night to her father Timothy and credited him to introducing her to the sport of gymnastics.

Both she and dance partner Ezra Sosa danced a Viennese Waltz to the song Daughters by John Mayer. 

The pair as well as her father color-coordinated in peach-colored ensembles as they hit the dance floor. 

The sports star’s dad had the chance to take part in a decent portion of the routine and shared a sweet embrace with his daughter. 

Chiles and Sosa received a score of 32/40 following the performance. 

Elaine Hendrix was joined by her close pal and Parent Trap co-star Lisa Ann Walter for Dedication Night. 

Walter joined Hendrix and her dance partner Alan Bersten as they performed to the song This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole. 

The duo were also cheered on by Dennis Quaid from the audience – who also starred in The Parent Trap (1998).

‘It means everything to me, the love and support of the people who are here and the people who aren’t here,’ Hendrix gushed on the show.

‘I just I feel so much love. And when you are lucky enough to have these kind of people in your life, you have to hold on to them because they’re lifers.’ 

Hendrix and Bersten performed a foxtrot with Walter taking part in the upbeat routine. They garnered a score of 30/40 from the judges.