Robert Irwin 'almost died' during Dancing With The Stars performance

Robert Irwin has said that he "almost died" during his recent performance on Dancing With The Stars US.

The 21-year-old conservationist and media personality stunned judges in a near-perfect Pasa Doble performance alongside his dance partner Witney Carson before they later joined in a group dance to the song Celebration by Cool & The Gang.

The group dance came to an end with a burst of confetti and while his fellow dancers were none the wiser, the Aussie icon was momentarily fighting for his life.

"I almost died tonight," Irwin told Entertainment Tonight in an interview after the show.

"I choked on a piece of confetti after the team dance."

Irwin continued to explain that the confetti became lodged in his throat and he struggled to remove it.

"I went over to Witney and I think they cut away and I inhaled a piece of confetti," he added.

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Shocked to learn what had happened without her knowledge, Carson asked: "Were you actually choking?"

"I couldn't breathe," Irwin responded reenacting how he was gasping for breath.

Eventually, Irwin says, he managed to dislodge the piece of confetti with a cough.

"I'm not even kidding," Irwin stressed to Carson and Entertainment Tonight reporter Deidre Behar, who both appeared shocked.

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Behar expressed her relief that Irwin was "still here with us and [will] be dancing next week".

"I nearly wasn't," Irwin replied.

Thankfully, Irwin was OK and the scary moment was only a brief interruption to a good day for the Dancing With The Stars contestant.

Irwin and Carson scored a close-to-perfect 38 out of 40 for their performance.

"The thunder from Down Under has unleashed a grandiose paso doble!" judge Bruno Tonioli declared.

But it didn't come easy.

Irwin admitted to Entertainment Tonight that it had been "the hardest week in rehearsals".

It all finally clicked for him, Irwin says, when Carson advised him to channel some anger into the performance.

"Witney just goes you know what just get angry with it and I'm like I've never been angry in my life," he exclaimed.

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