Mark Ballas addresses if he’d ever be a judge on “DWTS”

Marina WattsFri, November 13, 2026 at 10:00 PM UTC

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Mark Ballas at SiriusXM’s Front Row in Los Angeles in September 2026Credit: Amy Sussman/GettyKey Points -

Mark Ballas addresses whether he’d want to be a judge on DWTS.

The dancing pro served as a guest judge on the first season of The Next Pro, which he said he “enjoyed.”

Dancing With the Stars season 35 airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

Will fans ever find Mark Ballas at the judges panel on Dancing With the Stars?

The dancing pro, who qualified for the semifinals with partner and Traitors star Maura Higgins, addresses whether he’d like to serve as a permanent judge on the reality competition series. He previously served as a guest judge on week 4 of DWTS season 33 and was part of a judging panel for a DWTS spinoff.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure. I’d have to see. I’m a very take it day-by-day person. Honestly, I don’t think ahead like that. I’d have to see if it came along,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

“I enjoyed guest judging. The Next Pro was really fun. I think I’ve done the show for long enough that I could give good feedback and advice for contestants. But, again, that’s totally out of my hands.”

Ballas served as a guest judge on the first season of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, a competition series in search of the next dancing pro to join the DWTS lineup.

Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in October 2026Credit: Disney/Christopher Willard

Judging is in his DNA. His mother, Shirley Ballas, serves as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing. Whether he believes that he or his mother would become a permanent judge on DWTS first, he admitted that it would be “difficult to do both,” but it’s been done before.

“Len [Goodman] did it for so long. So did Bruno [Tonioli],” Ballas said. “I have no idea what the intentions are with the panel. I think the panel is pretty set.” Tonioli, Derek Hough, and Carrie Ann Inaba currently make up the judges panel.

Elsewhere in his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Ballas spoke about the popularity of DWTS in recent years and how it’s changed.

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“It’s kind of like anything, really. It just evolves. The production, the way it moves, the content of it all is just bigger. It’s really, really grown, and it’s pretty cool to see new people getting into the show for the first time. It’s pretty wild,” he admitted, noting that the “heartbeat of the show” remains the same.

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“It’s still about ballroom dancing, and predominantly the 10 ballroom dances, which are waltz, tango, foxtrot, quickstep, Viennese waltz, cha-cha, samba, rumba, paso and jive, and then there’s a couple of speciality dances in there. At the end of the day, what started the whole thing is, it’s a ballroom show.”

“Ballroom dancing is such a niche thing, but it brings so many people together. And if you’re fortunate enough to go deep into the show, it’s something that you’ll take with you forever.”

Mark Ballas arrives at ‘Dancing With The Stars’ in Los Angeles in September 2026Credit: Star Max/GC Images

Ballas began his journey on DWTS in 2007 with season 5. He appeared as a pro from seasons 5 to 25 and returned for season 31, after which he announced he was retiring in 2022. Ballas ultimately returned for season 34 in 2025.

The pro has taken home the Mirrorball Trophy three times already. Will season 35 be his fourth victory?

New episodes of Dancing With the Stars season 35 air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

on Entertainment Weekly

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”