‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Cheryl Burke Reveals What Fans Can Expect From Leah Remini as Guest Judge

Following Cheryl Burke and Ray Lewis‘ untimely elimination from Dancing With the Stars following a flare-up of one of the former NFL star’s previous injuries, Burke is opening up about what the future of the season looks like for her now that she’s out of competition — including how she’s helping friend Leah Remini gear up for her upcoming guest judging gig.

Remini, who danced with pro Tony Dovolani during Season 17 in 2013 and filled in for host Erin Andrews periodically during Seasons 19 and 21, is set to return to the ballroom on Monday, Oct. 7. Burke said that because Remini isn’t a professional dancer, her purpose on the judge’s panel will be more for “the people’s voice.”

“She’s not going to try and be this technical judge, because that’s not what she is. So she’s going to be more for like the people’s voice!” Burke wrote for Us Weekly. “She loves the show. She’s very opinionated. We always talk after the show and I love to hear her thoughts. Some will be able to be used on television!”

Although Remini may not have any technical expertise, the Scientology and the Aftermath star did make it to fifth place during her time on Season 17, so Burke told her to trust her instincts.

“I told her, at the end of the day, don’t ever disregard the fact that you know a lot about chemistry or if a couple makes you feel something or if they don’t or if you know they’re dancing authentic to authentic music,” Burke wrote, adding that dancers no longer have control over which song they’ll dance to.

“The fact that they [producers] want to stick to mainstream music is great, but we just need to dig a little deeper. There have to be mainstream songs that would work for every dance. I already know a few. We just need it to correlate,” Burke said.

As far as last week’s show went, with the show choosing not to eliminate any couple considering Burke and Lewis dropped out, she said she was “a little surprised.”

“I think it was what was fair for sure. Just knowing the show’s history, I thought for sure they were going to eliminate someone and then just save someone on Disney week or something,” she said.

Now that she and Lewis are out of the competition, Burke is hoping for a chance to help as a mentor. “Ideally, I think that after all my years on this show, I feel like I’m experienced enough to understand how the show works, but also to be able to go in there and help the couples that want help,” she said. “That’s the one thing, when I started the show, that I’ve always wanted — to be able to have a mentor there or even, like, a third eye. Every couple needs that. You can’t do everything.”

Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo credit: Rachel Murray / Stringer / Getty