Robert Irwin's lobbying his mum for Dancing with the Stars

The Irwin family now owns Dancing with the Stars. Robert just claimed the Len Turner Mirrorball Trophy in Season 34, joining his sister Bindi, who won in 2015. That makes them the winningest family in the show's history — and it leaves one glaring gap on the dancefloor.

Terri Irwin, the family matriarch, has never competed. Her son is determined to fix that.

"Nope, I'm not doing it. That's not for me," Terri told Robert after his win. But the 22-year-old isn't taking no for an answer. "I'm gonna wear you down," he told The Hollywood Reporter, adding with characteristic cheekiness: "Let's wear her down and get her on there, because I think she would be great."

Robert's reasoning is part playful, part genuinely convinced. He and Bindi clearly inherited dancing talent from somewhere — and he's ruled out their late father Steve. "He was a very athletic human being, but [had] no rhythm," Robert explained. "Those dancing genes, I'm pretty darn sure they didn't come from my dad... It must be [from my mum]. It's only fair, right? She's got to do it."

The show changed what Robert thought was possible

Beyond the family pride, Robert sees real value in what DWTS could offer his mum. The show fundamentally shifted how he thinks about his own work. "I didn't know I could dance," he reflected. "But now doing this show, a complete deviation from what I usually do, I've realized there are so many different avenues to connect with people and to tell stories."

That realization has expanded his ambitions. He's thinking bigger — more TV, more film, more ways to reach people beyond the wildlife work that made the Irwin name synonymous with conservation. Dancing with the Stars wasn't on his radar as a meaningful project, and yet it became one. That's the pitch he's making to Terri: you might surprise yourself.

Whether Terri eventually relents remains to be seen. But if family history is any guide, the Irwins tend to show up when it matters.