Just a few weeks after Julianne Hough announced that she would not return as a judge for season 22 of "Dancing With The Stars," her brother, pro dancer Derek Hough, has revealed that he will skip out on the upcoming season as well.
Derek has had an incredible run as he has been on the show for 16 seasons and has won the iconic Mirrorball Trophy six times, which is more than any of the other pro dancers. He and his partner, Bindi Irwin, took home the trophy last season, but luckily for fans, he won't be gone for too long.
"Derek will always love 'Dancing With the Stars' and the friends he's made through the show," a source said. "And the door isn't closed there. He'll always be a part of the family."
Since the 30-year-old dancer is prepping for a major role in the upcoming musical "Singin' in the Rain," he wants to make that his main focus. Other sources are saying that he's just sitting out this season, which means he will probably be back at some point.
In January 2015, Derek announced that he would not be returning to "DWTS" for season 20 as he was focusing on his Radio City Music Hall gig, "New York Spring Spectacular," but then about a month later, he decided to join the cast anyway. He was then partnered up with gymnast Nastia Liunkin and the two ended up coming in fourth place.
Since he made the decision to return so close to the start of season 20, some fans still hope this might happen for the upcoming season as well as he is a fan-favorite, but with less than three weeks until the premiere, it's up in the air.
The official cast reveal is set to take place next week on Tuesday, March 8. No contestants have been confirmed yet, but there have been some rumors going around for a few weeks now. So far, it looks like Irwin's little brother Robert, NFL players Rashad Jennings and Antonio Brown, actress Italia Ricci, "Fuller House" star Jodie Sweetin, "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kim Fields and UFC fighter Paige VanZant could be possible cast members on the hit dancing show.
Season 22 of "DWTS" premieres on ABC on Monday, March 21.
