Derek Hough Reacts to Ariana Madix ‘DWTS’ Casting Rumors

The countdown is on for season 32 of Dancing With the Stars — and Derek Hough is ready! The judge opened up to Us Weekly about what’s to come on the competition series.

“I think this is gonna be it. I think [they are] kind of realizing that three is the right amount. And what’s good about three is that it also allows space for guest judges,” the 37-year-old dancer exclusively told Us while promoting his partnership with Excedrin. “We did have Michael Bublé last season, but, like, five judges — that’s a lot. I was like, ‘We’re good.’ I think there’s a lot more flexibility in that.”

Hough will be joined by Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli on the upcoming season of the Disney+ show after Len Goodman’s departure. Hough agreed with Us that scaling back to three judges gives each person more time to talk, joking: “Bruno [is] over there taking up eight minutes.”

Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who last appeared as a pro on season 25 of DWTS, previously made his interest in joining the judges’ panel known.

“I would love to see anybody that was on the show come join us as a guest judge for an episode or two,” Hough told Us. “We had a celebration [recently]. I was with Maks and [his brother] Val [Chmerkovskiy] the other night, and it was wonderful. It was great to see them.”

Us previously confirmed that the Emmy winner’s sister Julianne Hough was returning to the ballroom to cohost alongside Alfonso Ribeiro. While Julianne, 34, will replace Tyra Banks after three seasons, the network has yet to announce the cast for season 32. Page Six previously reported that Ariana Madix — fresh off her split from Tom Sandoval amid his affair with Raquel Leviss — has been tapped to appear.

“I’m, like, the worst person to ask for that,” Derek told Us of the speculation that the Vanderpump Rules star, 37, has signed on. “I almost purposely try not to find out because I actually enjoy when they do the announcement, I like to experience it myself. I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, let’s find out.’ I’m excited to see what happens though. It’s always one of those things where you’re just like, ‘How do they keep doing it? How do we keep coming back?’ Each season seems to be greater and better than ever. The cast are always fantastic and even the people that you’re like, ‘Who’s that?’ They end up being your favorite person. It’s a great show.”

As he awaits the cast announcement, Derek told Us that he’s “super excited” about promoting Head Care, a new drug-free line from the makers of Excedrin that helps support head health and comfort. He worked with the brand on a holistic approach to head health.

“Working with my fiancée, Hayley Erbert, we’ve created these movement routines. There’s a couple of ’em,” he explained. “There’s one that’s more aerobic that’s about gaining the blood flowing [and] the oxygen flowing through your body, which is great for your overall health, but also for your head health. And also a sort of restorative yoga routine that is more about elongating the muscle, stretching and also focused on the breathing because we all don’t breathe enough.”

He continued: “When we have a headache or a migraine, the world stops — you can’t function. It’s just the worst. … For me, motion equals emotion. The way you move your body affects the way you feel. Obviously being a dancer and movement being such a huge part of my life, I’m so happy that they’re including the movement aspect for this because it is so, so important.”