Len Goodman to Retire From DWTS, Maks Chmerkovskiy to Fill in as Judge?
Len Goodman suggested his retirement from "Dancing with the Stars" during the season 18 finale on Monday, but rumors of his replacement on the judge's panel have already surfaced.
The 70-year-old dance critic has been with ABC's hit reality television series alongside judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli since the very first season in 2005. Despite his popularity, Goodman casually mentioned his impending retirement while critiquing Meryl Davis and Maks Chmerkovskiy during the season finale.
"Season 18 has been like a novel," he began. "Full of twists and turns, and we've come here to the last page and we're sure not sure how the story will end. For one, it'll be a happy ending, and I'm not saying this is true, but this might be my last season, and if it is I couldn't wish for a better dance to finish up with. You are great."
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Before the stunned audience, host Tom Bergeron replied, "We're going to talk mister, we're having a little talk after Bruno."
As it turns out, Goodman explained in a past interview that fulfilling his duty on "Strictly Come Dancing," the U.K.'s version of "DWTS," and commuting between London and Los Angeles has taken a toll on him. Consequently, rumors arose suggesting that the season 18 champion and favorite "DWTS" professional dancer Maks Chmerkovskiy could be eligible to fill in for Goodman at the judge's table.
Considering that Maks finally scored his first Mirrorball trophy after 17 seasons with "DWTS" on Tuesday, now would be a good time for the pro dancer to assume a new role on the hit ABC series. Furthermore, Maks just recently admitted that he would happily take the job as judge while on "The Wendy Williams" show.
"If the offered you a job as judge would you take it," Williams asked.
"Yeah," Maks replied.
Nevertheless, Goodman nor "DWTS" showrunners have announced any changes to the judges' panel. "DWTS" season 19 is set to premiere in September.
