'Classy' Seymour Gets Booted From 'Dancing'

Nov. 7, 2007 — -- In the most dramatic and competitive season yet, actress Jane Seymour was eliminated in the seventh week of "Dancing With the Stars" Tuesday night.

Seymour, who judges called elegance personified, said the experience was one of the best of her life and teared up at the thought of leaving the competition.

"I mean this was just an extraordinary gift," Seymour said on "Good Morning America" today. "First of all, no woman my age -- or remotely my age -- has ever done it. Secondly, I don't think anyone, including myself, expected to get through more than the first dance and I did nine dances."

Seymour said she had medical issues she thought might have hindered her dancing abilities.

"I was in rehab three times a week with back injuries before I did 'Dancing With the Stars,'" Seymour said. "I have three herniated discs and a bad knee. I have never seen or done any moves like this in my life. It's amazing."

She said the dancing actually helped her ailments.

"I've regenerated the musculature around my spine."

Along with her physical issues, Seymour encountered emotional ones as well. Her mother died earlier in the season, but Seymour said she was glad her mother got to see her dance.

"My mom made me do this," she said. "She couldn't talk. She couldn't move. And she somehow managed to say 'yes' out loud when I told her I'd been asked to do this."

"My sisters said, 'Mommy just spoke. She said yes. That means you have to do this,'" she added and said "Dancing With the Stars" was her mother's favorite show.

"When she died and I went to the funeral -- I had two days to learn the tango," Seymour said. "I came back. I did it. I kept thinking, 'Why am I even dancing? This is crazy.' And my mom just filled me. And, you know, this was her gift to me. She wanted to give me something I wanted more than life itself when I was a little girl so I can only thank my mom for persuading me to do this."

Seymour said the success she did have on the show was due to her partner and teacher, Tony Novocain.

"He's a terrific teacher and it meant a great deal. He really worked me hard. I think a lot of people saw that. But I had a wonderful time," she said.

Her stint on the show also reignited a love she had forgotten about.

"I now know that I have a passion for dance -- that dance is in my soul. And that I cannot live without dance for the rest of my life," Seymour said. "I wanted to be a dancer when I was a little girl and I have not danced at all since I was 16 years old. And now I realize that I need to dance."

In addition to the joy she gets from dancing, Seymour said the competition did wonders for her figure, too.

"The effect it's had on my body is ridiculous," she said. "I never had this body."

She said her husband has approved and tried to steal the sexy little gold dress she wore during her final performance.

"I said, 'You can't steal the costume.' He thought it was hot."

Seymour said she greatly enjoyed the experience.

"I'm so grateful to 'Dancing With the Stars' for so many things," she said. "If this is going to let other people out there in America realize that life's too short not to do things you have a passion for. Try new things."