Julianne Hough Returning to ‘DWTS’ Season 23 as Judge, Derek Hough as Pro Dancer
Julianne Hough and Derek Hough are both returning to “Dancing With the Stars” Season 23, insiders confirm to Variety. Julianne will return as a judge, while Derek and be back in ballroom as a pro dancer.
Both Hough siblings took a hiatus last season, and did not appear on Season 22.
While ABC has not announced the judges for Season 23 yet, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman were on the panel last season, and even with Julianne coming back, sources say there has been no talk of any of them departing. (The foursome judged together for two previous seasons.)
ABC declined to comment on the Hough’s return, and any other casting buzz.
Julianne got her start on “Dancing with the Stars” as a pro dancer in Season 4 during which she became the show’s youngest winner. She continued as a dancer through Season 8 and departed before the ninth season, before returning as a judge for seasons 19 through 21.
Derek began on “DWTS” in Season 5 and has competed as a pro dancer for every season since, except Season 12 and this year’s 22nd season. He was won the mirror ball trophy six times, and has racked up eight Emmy nominations for his choreography on the show.
The past year while she was on break from being a “DWTS” judge, Julianne had the starring role of Sandy in Fox’s “Grease Live!” receiving rave reviews for her performance. Her brother will also take his turn in the live TV musical world with NBC’s “Hairspray Live!” which airs Dec. 7. Since departing “DWTS” as a dancer, Julianne has also had her fare share of film work with “Safe Haven,” “Footloose” and “Rock of Ages.” Derek has had roles on ABC’s “Nashville” and the CW’s “Jane the Virgin.”
E! Online was first to report on the Hough’s return for Season 23. Other pros who will be on the upcoming season are Maksim and Val Chmerkovskiy, Gleb Savchenko, Witney Carson, Artem Chigvintsev, Sharna Burgess, Lindsay Arnold and Sasha Farber. While ABC does not comment on casting, rumored celebrity contestants include Olympian Ryan Lochte, “Bachelorette” JoJo Fletcher, Amber Rose, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Terra Jole and former Disney star Jake T. Austin. Reports of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles joining surfaced, but the gold medalist has since squashed those reports, stating that her schedule would not permit her to participate on “DWTS.”
The full lineup of pros and celebrity contestants will be revealed Tuesday, Aug. 30 on “Good Morning America.”
Julianne is repped by WME. Derek is repped by UTA.
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