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Derek Hough, six-time Mirrorball champion on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” is comfortable in his new spot as a judge on the show. In a recent interview, however, Hough revealed the one thing that would make him get back out into the ballroom.
During a stop by “The Kelly Clarkson Show” to talk about his role on the Disney+ series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” Hough opened up to host Kelly Clarkson about what it would take to get him to come back as a professional dancer and whether or not dancing or judging was a harder job.
“Oh, being a pro dancer [is harder] for sure!” Hough shared before putting on a faux-British accent to imitate fellow judge Len Goodman talking about dancing for hours and hours on end.
He also said he was excited about the upcoming season because Goodman will be returning to the ballroom.
Hough Says One Celebrity Would Get Him to Return to the Ballroom
When asked if he would ever go back and dance on the show, Hough replied that he might and he never says never.
“I love the show so much, it’s so much fun,” Hough replied. “It’d have to be, like, with the right partner or the right thing. I don’t know.”
When asked who the right partner would be to get him to return, Hough didn’t hold back.
“I’ve always said Celine Dion,” he told Clarkson. “Because, I met her a couple of times, but the first time I met her was on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ when she performed, and I was walking up the stairs, I was holding some shoes, and she goes, ‘Derek Hough!’ and I’m like, ‘Celine Dion knows my name!'”
He said that he didn’t know how to reply to her so he just said “I’m holding shoes.”
“And she said, she’s like ‘Derek Hough is holding shoes, oh yeah!'” he said in a sing-songy voice.
Hough Is Excited to Return as a Judge
This isn’t the first time Hough has talked about a possible return to dancing on “Dancing With the Stars,” but he is only returning as a judge right now.
Hough told Us Weekly that he’s excited to continue being a judge, though he would consider returning as a dancer at some point.
“When Tom Brady won a seventh Super Bowl, I was like, ‘Oh no, do I need to go for seven here?” he joked at the time. “No, I think – who knows? I never say never, but for right now, I’m looking forward to going back as a judge.”
During his interview with Us Weekly, Hough opened up about the hardest part of being a judge on the show.
“The hardest part about [being a judge is] just keeping what I’m trying to say [to] 20 seconds because it’s live,” he told the outlet. “That’s been really difficult, especially because I want to help, but I want to coach, so I want to be like, ‘All right, so here’s what we’re going to do.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh wait, we can’t do that.’ I’ve just gotta give a general critique.”
“Dancing With the Stars” will return for season 30 in September 2021.
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