Katherine Jenkins cries during Dancing performance

Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins broke down in tears on Dancing With The Stars on Monday night (02Apr12) as she remembered her late father's cancer battle.

The contestants on the show based this week's (begs02Apr12) dance on the single most defining moment in their lives, and the opera star picked her dad Selwyn's health issues.

Tearing up in rehearsals, she revealed, "In 1996 we found out that my father had lung cancer. I was at the time 15 and my sister was 13. I got pulled out of class one day by my auntie who came to school to say your dad's gone into a coma and you need to come..."

Jenkins performed a waltz to Josh Groban's To Where You Are and wept as she finished the dance in honour of her dad.

The judges were full of praise for her performance, awarding her 29 out of a possible 30 points - prompting the star to break down in tears. She later told her Twitter.com fans, "I can't thank u (sic) enough 4 (sic) all your lovely messages of support & strength."

Actor Jaleel White was also overcome with emotion as he danced a rumba inspired by his nerdy Family Matters character's transformation to a more-confident alter-ego.

He declared, "I can't even begin to express how personal it was... I love entertaining people. And I have been since I was three. I just wanted to complete this week."