Second Choice? The *One* Dancing With the Stars Pro Who Almost Wasn’t Asked Back
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Dancing With the Stars is coming back for Season 33 in the fall, and though we still don’t know which celebrities – or pros – will be back, former pro Cheryl Burke has shed some light on how the process of choosing the pros for each season works and which Dancing With the Stars pro almost left before Season 32.
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During the July 12 episode of the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast Burke talked about the casting process for Dancing With the Stars and revealed that “I just know that they have not only the actual, their wish list of casts, but they also have backup plans just in case. And that’s actually really scary for the pro dancers.”
As for Season 32, which aired last year, Burke said. “I’m not gonna mention any names, but I know last season, one of the pro dancers, they weren’t even gonna be asked back to join until one celebrity dropped out last minute and they replaced the celebrity.”
More: Here’s when Dancing With the Stars Season 33 is coming back
True to her promise, Burke didn’t give any additional details or name who exactly almost didn’t make the cut. The pros on Season 32 of Dancing With the Stars were Jenna Johnson, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, Brandon Armstrong, Peta Murgatroyd, Rylee Arnold, Sasha Farber, Artem Chigvintsev, Pasha Pashkov, Daniella Karagach, and Val Chmerkovskiy.
Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy won Season 32.
The former pro also shared that she, herself had been in a position where she didn’t know if she’d be part of the cast until the last minute, making it clear that the circumstances she’s referring to are common on Dancing With the Stars. Burke has discussed the casting process on her podcast before, with other former pros like Edyta ?liwińska agreeing that the casting process was the reason why they’d left the show.
More: This surprising cast member is exiting before Season 33
“One of the reasons that me and my husband left really early — and it’s not a criticism of the show, it’s just the nature of the business — there are so many things in [the] entertainment business that are out of your control. Starting from the casting process. You have no say whether you’re going to be picked up or not,” ?liwińska said.
Burke announced her retirement from Dancing With the Stars in 2022, posting on Instagram “This has been one of the absolute hardest decisions of my life & I am also confident that it is the right one. This has truly been the experience of a lifetime. I’m looking forward to this next chapter of my career, but man will this one be hard to beat! Until next time.”
The show has yet to announce the pro or celebrity lineup for Season 33.
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What are ex-Dancing with the Stars pros up to now? Find out in the gallery below!
