Fan-Favorite ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Returning for Season 35 After Years Away

After five years away, a fan-favorite Dancing With the Stars pro will be competing in the ballroom once again!

The DWTS Instagram account made the big announcement on Monday morning that Sharna Burgess will be competing for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy during Season 35.

“A little birdie told us an absolute firecracker is back in the ballroom. Please give @sharnaburgess a warm welcome on her return as a #DWTS pro,” the official page captioned a video of Burgess.

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“I’m back in the ballroom, baby!” a smiling Burgess said, blowing a kiss to the camera and walking away.

She also announced the news on Good Morning America. “I’m back!” she said. “Some of you guys guessed it … I’m back on Dancing With the Stars, baby. I’m gonna be competing for that Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. I can’t wait to be back in the ballroom with my dancing family. And mostly, it feels so good to be coming home. I’ll see you all soon.”

Burgess, 41, hasn’t competed on DWTS since 2021 during Season 30 when she was partnered with now-fiancé Brian Austin Green, with whom she welcomed her first child, son Zane, in 2022.

In August 2022 she announced she wouldn’t be returning for Season 31 of DWTS, saying motherhood was her top priority. She did make a surprise cameo on DWTS during the 500th milestone episode in November 2024 and is a judge on Dancing With the Stars Australia.

She hinted at Dancing With the Stars Con in August that a return to DWTS might be on the table, telling Us Weekly that producers had sparked conversations about a potential return. “We actually discussed it last year, and it was by no means a ‘Please come back,’” she told the outlet. “It wasn’t a hard offer on the table, but there was definitely a temperature check.”

She said that she “wasn’t ready” to return because Zane “was not in school yet, and I was building on other things. I’ve been acting and doing a lot of other stuff, too.”

Sharna’s celebrity partner will likely be revealed when the entire cast is revealed on Good Morning America on Wednesday, Sept. 2. So far, reality stars Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins have been confirmed, as have Savannah Bananas player Jackson Olson and Jimmy Kimmel Live! sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez.

Us Weekly reported last week that Bachelor Nation star Tyler Cameron, Brooks Nader’s sister Sarah Jane Nader, Whitney Leavitt’s husband Conner Leavitt and actress Jenna Dewan will also compete on Season 35, though those four have not been confirmed by ABC.

Polymarket traders are placing bets on who else will join the cast, with Love Island USA star Rob Rausch, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Miranda McWhorter and Alix Earle’s sister Ashtin Earle holding fairly similar odds of making the cast this year.

Polymarket is also predicting the winner of the season, with Higgins and Miller tied currently. Those odds will change as the rest of the cast is added to the spread and as the season goes on.

Dancing With the Stars Season 35 premieres with a two-night premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 15 and Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with next-day streaming on Hulu.

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