Heads up, Dancing with the Stars fans, Derek Hough is returning to the dance floor! The former Mirrorball champ will be performing on Dancing with the Stars on the Oct. 19 episode with his girlfriend and former DWTS troupe number Hayley Ebert. Hough has been serving as a judge on Season 29 but this is the first time he’ll dance on the show since 2017.
The judge and dancer confirmed the news during a digital panel promoting the new season on Wednesday and said that he and Ebert have already started rehearsing for the performance.
“We actually did like a little session yesterday. We woke up this morning very sore. So, we’re like, ‘Oh, OK, we have three [weeks] to make this happen.’ But I’m very excited… I walked into the ballroom the other day by myself when it was empty during like a lunch break, and I just kind of walked around that space. I just was like, ‘Wow,’ and the memories, the nostalgia that I felt — just, wow, this happened here this moment happened here,” Hough gushed. “Being a part of the show has been such a dream. I’m so thankful to have the honor and the pleasure to perform one second in this sacred space.”
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Hough and Ebert previously performed for ABC’s Disney Family Singalong back in April, but this is the first time they will be performing together on the Dancing with the Stars hardwood floor.
The panel also teased new themes that are coming up, confirming that it’ll be a different theme night every other week. Next up will be ’80s night on Oct. 12 and a villains themed night for Oct. 26 — and host Tyra Banks promised that you are not ready for her villain-inspired outfit.
Executive producer Andrew Llinares added that AJ McLean will be dancing to his first Backstreet Boys song of the season with his former bandmates joining the dance digitally. We can also expect an emotional dance from Skai Jackson in which she honors Cameron Boyce, a fellow Disney alum who died at the age of 20 in 2019, during Monday’s upcoming episode.
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.
Derek Hough, Dancing with the Stars