For Lisa Rinna, "Dancing With the Stars" is a matter of pride.
She'd been offered "Surreal Life," "Skating With Celebrities," "But Can They Sing" and even the first edition of "Dancing With the Stars." She turned all of them down.
"I was a little offended by the 'Surreal Life' (offer). I didn't think I had gone there yet in my career," says the former "Days of Our Lives" actress.
When the second edition of "Dancing" (7 p.m. Thursdays, ABC) was looking for a new set of all-star hoofers, Rinna got the call and jumped at the chance this time. Watching the first edition changed her mind about what the show was all about.
"It's a feel-good show," she says. "There's nothing mean-spirited about this, like a lot of the other shows."
The success of "Dancing" did not hurt, either. More than 18 million viewers are tuning in to this edition, making it one of ABC's most durable hits.
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Rinna is competing against such other celebs as actor George Hamilton, wrestler Stacy Keibler and football legend Jerry Rice.
Rinna, teamed with professional dancer Louis van Amstel, is being shrewd about the contest. She says the exposure could help her clothing store, and, if she continues to stay in the competition, her acting career. The winner of the competition gets nothing, by the way, but pride. For now, her days consist of eight hours of dance lessons. She has five days to learn and master each week's routine.
When she isn't learning steps, she's designing her costumes for the night, running her own clothing store in the Los Angeles area and hosting SoapNet's talk show, "Soap Talk."
She's also married to actor Harry Hamlin. They have two children together.
She got the invitation to join the show in August, but didn't start rehearsals until November.
"I didn't take (dance) lessons (before November) because I could have picked up a lot of bad habits," she says. "I kind of took a risk."
It was a risk in more ways than one. "Dancing" is not always about who's best on the floor. It is often a popularity contest, hanging on which celebrity has the most loyal fan base.
Witness the success of first-season winner Kelly Monaco of "General Hospital," whose dancing was critically trounced early on. Die-hard soap fans kept her in the competition weekly, though.
The same could be said this season of rapper Master P, whose muddled footwork did not go unnoticed, though he stayed on the show until late last month. (Master P joined the show to sub for his son, Romeo, who was injured shortly before the show began production.)
Rinna does not under- estimate how important a fan base can be to the show.
"It has a lot to do with your fan base," she admits.
"I'll be devastated if I am voted out."
● "Dancing With the Stars" airs at 7 p.m. Thursdays on ABC.
