Before his involvement in Dancing With The Stars 2025 was announced, Michael Usher nearly blew his cover during a live news bulletin thanks to an unfortunately timed leg cramp.
“During one bulletin on the Sydney news, my co-host, Angie [Asimus], asks, ‘Are you OK?’” Michael, 54, tells TV WEEK. “I said, ‘No, I just cramped.’ My leg was cramping underneath the news desk chronically after dance rehearsals. I had to get to the commercial break and jump up quickly and stomp around to get it out.”
A respected 7NEWS and Spotlight presenter, Michael is more used to war zones than waltzes, so he was out of his comfort zone on the reality competition.
“I’ve seen acts of terrorism and been in really high-stress, dangerous places,” he explains. “Of all the things in the world, stepping onto that dance floor, I couldn’t control my nerves. My knees wobbled and my hands shook.”
But it was all worth it for one big reason: his three kids. Michael shares Tom, 23, Max, 19, and Alex, 17, with his ex-wife, Annalie.
“It brought us together as a family on a Sunday night,” he says. “All the kids came and watched the show and loved it. My daughter, Alex, cried at every dance. I asked her one night, ‘Why are you crying?’ and she said: ‘Well, I was nervous and stressed for you. I’ve ridden this roller-coaster with you.’”
The seasoned journo is also celebrating two 2025 TV WEEK Logie nominations – the Ray Martin Award for Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter, and Best Current Affairs Program for 7NEWS Spotlight, Seven’s investigative current affairs show.
“I was really chuffed,” Michael says. “And I’m a TV kid. I grew up watching TV. We grew up watching the Logies as a family. And then I got into TV and now I’m nominated for the thing that I love.”
It was a big moment for his proud parents – and a comedic one for his sister.
“Mum and Dad love it, but my sister says things like, ‘Who do you think you are, Bert Newton or something?’” he laughs. “It’s a mix of support, love and merciless mocking at the same time.”
But his career hasn’t always come with trophies. Some moments have been deeply traumatic.
“The most emotionally distressing story as a news event I covered was a terrorist attack in a part of Russia,” he recalls. “These Chechen rebels blew up a school on the first day back to school and 83 children died. It was horrific because I was there as it was unfolding and parents were running into the school and dragging out their children trying to get them to safety, but they were dead.”
Despite the grief he’s witnessed, Michael’s optimism, humour and gratitude endure, particularly when it comes to his kids.
“I’m very lucky because my three kids are supportive and we talk a lot,” he says of parenting. “The kids have a wicked sense of humour and that helps a lot, and they take the mickey out of me on many occasions – especially when I’m dancing.”
And as for whether the dedicated journalist will ever slow down, Michael says, “I can’t even see myself retiring. The kids often say, ‘Dad, your job is like a hobby because you like it so much.’ I think that’s kind of true.”
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