Entertainment

Dancing With the Stars Season 35 Team Returns

Editorial Team3 min read
EntertainmentDancing With the Stars Season 35 Team Returns

The familiar faces are staying behind the desk for Dancing With the Stars season 35. ABC confirmed on the Sept. 1 edition of Good Morning America that Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli will return as judges.

Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro are also coming back as co-hosts, keeping the show’s main on-screen team intact. Apparently, nobody felt the ballroom needed an unnecessary furniture rearrangement.

Derek said the coming season already had plenty of momentum. “The cast is incredible,” he said on Good Morning America. “The pros are energized. They’re motivated. They’re excited. They’re ready to compete.”

He added that the series remains “magic in a bottle” and continues to produce that magic each season. Expectations, then, have been placed at a sensibly modest level.

Why Shirley Ballas is not joining the judging panel

Carrie Ann and Bruno have judged the competition together since its first season. Despite that long working relationship, Carrie Ann said her fellow judge remains reliably unpredictable.

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“Every time we get out there, I never know what’s going to happen with this guy,” she joked.

Some viewers had expected Shirley Ballas to join them after she appeared as a judge on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. Shirley is the mother of longtime series professional Mark Ballas, who also judged the spin-off.

Those theories did not become reality, at least in this announcement. ABC named only Carrie Ann, Derek and Bruno for the season 35 panel, leaving the existing trio unchanged.

The full celebrity lineup is due to be announced on Sept. 2. Confirmed participants already include Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller, Jackson Olson and Guillermo Rodriguez. Their professional partners will be revealed alongside the remaining cast.

Adele Zaikman joins the professional dancers

The judging panel may be familiar, but the professional lineup is getting a new addition. Adele Zaikman earned a place on the main series after winning the inaugural season of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.

The spin-off was hosted by season 34 champion Robert Irwin and concluded on Aug. 31. AJ Pritchard finished as runner-up, while Selena Hamilton placed third.

Zaikman, a Blackpool Dance Festival champion, described the victory as recognition for the work required to reach the ballroom.

“I just feel like this is a celebration of all the sacrifices that I’ve done,” she said during the finale. “It’s just like a big ‘I made it’ moment.”

Derek appeared as a guest judge for the final and praised Zaikman’s maturity and stage presence. He said she could captivate an audience simply by walking across the floor.

“If you became a pro, you wouldn’t just fit in; you would elevate the rest of the Dancing With the Stars cast,” he told her. “I really believe that.”

Zaikman will now join the established professionals and partner with one of the incoming celebrities. ABC will disclose those pairings with the complete cast on Sept. 2.

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dancing with the stars season 35dwts judgesadele zaikmancelebrity cast

About The Hook Editorial Team

Editorial Team

The Hook Editorial Team delivers daily news reporting and analysis.

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