Derek Hough is returning to Dancing With the Stars, but this time he won’t be dancing.
The former pro—who danced for 17 seasons and won a record six mirrorball trophies—is coming back as a judge this time. He’s taking the spot of Len Goodman, who is staying in the UK due the pandemic, and joining Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli at a socially distanced judge’s table. That extra space will be helpful, the dancer tells E! News.
“I genuinely get excited. I can’t contain myself. I can’t hide it,” he says in the video above. “But it’s probably a good thing that Bruno and I aren’t sitting too close to each other this season because we’re very physical in the way we talk and I feel like one of us would get hurt. Or Carrie Ann would be dodging arms left, right and center.”
Derek isn’t yet sure of the kind of judge he’s going to be, but he’s hoping to be a helpful one.
