Witney Carson Joins ‘DWTS: Junior’ as Mentor

Dancing With the Stars just wrapped up its first-ever all-athletes season, and the reality competition show is ready to make history once again with its first season featuring contestants who are quite a bit younger than any the show has seen before.

The upcoming Dancing With the Stars: Junior will see young contestants compete for their chance at ballroom glory, and original series pro Witney Carson has revealed that she will be joining the show as a mentor.

Carson shared the news with Entertainment Tonight on Friday at the 2018 Radio Disney Music Awards, explaining that she’ll be on hand to help out the young dancers.

“I’m gonna be involved, so I’m excited. It’s a good change of pace. I think people will like the kid version of it, it’s going to be super fun and I hope people will like it,” she said. “I’m actually going to be a mentor to the couple — I don’t know who I have yet, probably somebody Disney, for sure, but I don’t know, so we’ll see.”

As for which pint-sized stars are planning to hit the ballroom, no casting details have yet been announced. Still, Carson has an idea of who she’d love to work with on the dance floor.

“I think Jenna Ortega would be so cute… who else?” she said, naming the actress who plays young Jane on the CW’s Jane the Virgin. “I dunno… anybody!”

At 24, Carson has already served as a pro on DWTS for nine seasons, winning Season 19 with partner Alfonso Ribeiro, so she’s clearly a natural fit for the mentor position on the upcoming spinoff.

After thinking of one more contestant — Mason Ramsey, famous for his Walmart-aisle yodeling rendition of Hank Williams’ “Lovesick Blues” — Carson was elated to realize Ramsey was actually at the awards that night.

“Is he here? Oh my gosh, I’m gonna attack him,” she said.

“That is my mission tonight, yes!” Carson added of her plan to get Ramsey on DWTS: Junior. “OK, good.”

Only time will tell whether Carson succeeded — Dancing With the Stars: Junior will air on ABC on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET this fall.

The series will have a full season consisting of 10 episodes, but episodes will only be an hour long, and episodes will be pre-taped to accommodate the young stars’ schedules, TV Guide reports.

In addition, the original iteration of the show will continue to air on Monday nights.

Photo Credit: Getty / Axelle/Bauer-Griffin