'Dancing With The Stars' Season 25 Updates: Julianne Hough Will Miss Out The Judges' Panel This Season
Former dance pro-turned-judge Julianne Hough will not return to the panel of "Dancing With the Stars" season 25.
The 29-year-old dancer-actress will be missed in the next installment of the long-running celebrity dance competition. This means that the judges' panel will just be composed of long-time judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli. However, a source claimed that the production is looking forward to welcoming several guest judges for the season.
Hough joined "Dancing With the Stars" as a pro dancer from season 4 to 8. She took a break from the show then returned as a guest judge for seasons 17 and 18, before being assigned to be a full-time judge for season 19 to 21. She had another break, then went back to the judges' panel for season 23 and season 24.
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The 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Choreography winner has yet to reveal her reason why she opted not to return to the show in season 25, but her brother and pro dancer Derek Hough told Entertainment Tonight that she has a lot of things on her plate at the moment.
"We were supposed to go back on tour, she's just newly married, she is a very focused woman," the 32-year-old dancer-choreographer stated in the interview. "She has her sights set on other opportunities and other things."
He also explained that his sister needs to step away from one of her commitments to explore other opportunities.
The older Hough will also miss out competing in the "Dancing With the Stars" dance floor for this season. However, he claimed that he is not closing his doors for the show in the future.
"I'm never saying never [to returning to the show in the future]," he also said. "They're my family. I will always be a positive ambassador for that show. I love it dearly."
ABC will air the premiere episode of "Dancing With the Stars" season 25 with a live show on Monday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m. EDT.
