Courtesy of Antonio Sabato Jr.(NEW YORK) — While Antonio Sabato Jr. was competing last year on season 19 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, he was also traveling around the country renovating homes as the host of Fix It and Finish It. The back-and-forth he had to do, wasn’t easy on the actor.
“I don’t think a lot of people in my industry would be able to do this, as many homes on a daily basis, across the entire nation. We did 11 months, 13 cities, non-stop,” he tells ABC Radio. “To be away from my family, my wife and to have like a few days here and there and also to do Dancing with the Stars at the same time. Yeah, that was pretty crazy. That really puts you on your toes.”
On Fix It and Finish It, a nationally syndicated home improvement show, the actor, along with local contractors, renovate one space in a home all in one day.
Although his schedule was tough, Sabato said it was worth it after meeting the people he eventually helped. “They all need something. We all need help. And to be able to help them and to be able to see their faces and what it means to them…because we walk in to somebody’s home and this is their home, this is where they live, and by the time we’re done this is one of the best days of their entire life,” he explains.
Sabato is excited for season 20 of Dancing with the Stars to kick off Monday on ABC. In fact, Sabato, who made it to Week 7 last year on the dance competition with his partner Cheryl Burke, already has a prediction on who he thinks will win.
“Nastia [Liukin] is a friend of mine, and she’s got Derek [Hough]. And he’s just phenomenal. …[His] choreography and everything he does is just really out of this world so I think they’re in good shape. And they’re both in good shape. I think they have a good shot at winning the whole thing,” he tells ABC Radio. “I think Derek is gonna take it for the fifth time. What is it, five times? I lost count.”
Actually, Hough already has five Mirror Ball Trophies. We’ll see if he can get to six when the series begins next week.
For the other contestants, however, Sabato has some advice.
“Really enjoy every minute because it’s going to go really fast,” he says. “And it is hard. I mean, you’re putting in a lot of hours, but at the end of the day it’s fun. You take one dance at a time. You don’t know what the music is until the last minute so you can’t really do anything about that. But what you can do is show up and listen to your partner, have a great time, don’t stress out.”
To tune into Fix It and Finish It, check your local listings for channel and times.
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
