Derek Hough missed last week’s episode of Dancing With the Stars.
The newest judge on the show’s four-panel table said he was exposed to someone with COVID-19 and while he had not tested positive, he wanted to protect everyone else on the show.
The good news is that Derek never tested positive and he will be back tonight on Dancing With the Stars.
Derek Hough returning to DWTS
It was Page Six that broke the news that Derek Hough would be back for tonight’s episode of Dancing With the Stars.
A source told the site that Hough is in perfect health and he only held out last week to protect the safety of the cast and crew just in case.
Cheryl Burke tested positive for COVID-19 over two weeks ago and DWTS held out her partner Cody Rigsby as well just for precautions. A few days after that next episode aired, Cody also tested positive, so the move proved necessary.
Lucky for Derek, he tested negative, but it was still a smart and considerate thing for the DWTS judge to do.
That means tonight, Derk Hough, Cody Rigsby, and Cheryl Burke will all return from quarantine for the episode. It will be Cheryl and Cody’s first live dance in the ballroom since their positive tests.
“I have been officially cleared. I am back to normal,” Cheryl said. “No more quarantine for me.”
As for Derek, he sat out last week completely and the judges turned into a three-person table.
Derek Hough on Dancing With the Stars
This is Derek Hough’s first season as a judge on Dancing with the Stars. Before this, he served as a judge on the NBC dance show, World of Dance, from 2017 to 2020.
He was a former professional dancer on the show, where he served from 2007 to 2016. At the age of 36, he has still not ruled out an eventual return to the dance floor.
Hough was one of the most successful pros on the show, with a record-breaking six wins over his time there.
He won with Brooke Burke, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Grey, Kellie Pickler, Amber Riley, and Bindi Irwin.
He was also very popular, winning an Emmy three times out of 11 nominations for Dancing With the Stars.
Dancing With the Stars airs this week on Monday and Tuesday nights at 8/7c on ABC for Disney Week. Monday night is Disney Heroes Night and Tuesday is Disney Villains Night.