NEWSDancing Pro Derek Hough Set To Return To ‘DWTS’ For 'Mystery Role' In New Season
He’s back! Derek Hough is set to sashay back into the ballroom for a “mystery role” in the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars.
It’s been four years since the 35-year-old has been a part of the show, and the ABC dance competition teased his return in a commercial released Wednesday, September 2, the same day the full cast list was released for the upcoming season.
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“He is a Dancing With the Stars legend. He has won the mirrorball a record six different times. Now, he is back,” the commercial announced. “But what will he be doing on the new epic season of Dancing With the Stars? Hold on tight. You’re about to find out.”
What exactly Hough’s role on the show will be is set to be announced on Good Morning America on Tuesday, September 8.
The dancing hunk first competed on DWTS in 2007. His last season on the show was in 2016. When he talked about whether or not he would ever return to the show, he told Us Weekly “never say never.”
Hough has since served as a judge on NBC’s dance competition show World of Dance alongside executive producer Jennifer Lopez and singer Ne-Yo.
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DWTS has undergone a lot of changes for the new season. Longtime hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews were fired from the show, and replaced by supermodel Tyra Banks, who will also serve as executive producer.
Tyra has had a rough start to her time on the hit dance show, with reports coming out that she was having a hard time getting big name stars to join her in the ballroom.
“Part of the reason Tyra was hired was because it was assumed that she would be able to bring in big named stars to the competition. The show has always struggled to get top celebrities into the ballroom, with Kim Kardashian possibly being the biggest name to ever dance. Tyra implied she could call all her famous friends and get them to join the show, but so far it is not happening,” sources told the Naughty But Nice podcast with Rob Shuter on iHeart.
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OK! exclusively reported that Banks was also feuding with longtime judge Len Goodman, and overstepping her role as host of the show. “Tyra has taken over completely. She is an executive producer as well as the host and wants to change the show to a point where it’s long-time fans won’t recognize it anymore. The only person that is standing up to her is Len, which as you can imagine isn’t going over well,” a studio insider said.
The stars who will be lacing up their dancing shoes and fighting for the mirrorball trophy were announced Wednesday, September 2. Some of the big names include Johnny Weir, AJ McLean, Anne Heche and Tiger King’s Carole Baskin.
The new season of Dancing With the Stars premieres Monday, September 14, on ABC.
