‘Dancing With the Stars’: Former Pro Mark Ballas Shares Thoughts on Returning as Permanent Judge Following Guest Appearance

Former Dancing With the Stars pro Mark Ballas is giving his thoughts on a possible return, but as a judge. Ballas was on 20 seasons of DWTS, winning the Mirrorball three times, most recently with Season 31 with Charli D’Amelio, which was his final season. He then returned for Season 33 as a guest judge for Dedication Night and made fans very happy in the process. Especially following the growing criticism of Carrie Ann Inaba and her scoring, fans want nothing more than to have Ballas back on the panel as a permanent judge.

Ballas told TV Insider that being a pro and then judge, like current judge Derek Hough, he knows what it’s like to be on the other side receiving feedback and knows exactly what the judges are looking for. “I’m aware after competing for 20 seasons that sometimes you get at the judges’ table great feedback that makes you feel good, and sometimes, you get feedback that you’re bummed out about,” Ballas said.

“Most of the time, you’re not doing that dance again that you’ve just performed,” he continued. “So, my goal was to bring feedback that couples could apply to other dances as they moved forward. Talking about hip action and rib cages applies to nearly all dances. The judges are here to give you their opinion in the moment. But there are things they can say to take them on this journey.”

That being said, would Ballas return as a judge again, whether as a guest judge or on a more permanent basis? “If they would have me? Of course! It would be fun. I grew up around this type of dancing. My mom [Shirley Ballas] and dad [Corky Ballas, a former DWTS pro] are both accomplished Latin American ballroom teachers. My mom is the head judge on Strictly Come Dancing in the UK. I grew up knowing [late DWTS judge] Len Goodman my whole life when I lived in England. I spent my whole life learning from the best coaches there. It was an amazing experience sitting there at the [DWTS] table. It was my first time. If they’d have me back, I’d be totally down.”

Whether or not DWTS will be adding a fourth permanent judge or replacing a current judge in the future is unknown, but fans will just have to wait and see. The good news is that Mark Ballas is interested, so there’s always hope. New episodes of Dancing With the Stars air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.