Fans of Dancing With the Stars will have another week of Leah Remini’s unique take on the competition as she continues to fill in for regular co-host Erin Andrews. Andrews is occupied with Fox Sports ‘ coverage of the World Series. It’s sure to be an entertaining group of dances, as the DWTS contestants are taking on a Halloween theme.
Before she returned last week, Remini had some good-natured Twitter patter with Tom Bergeron, asking the DWTS anchor if she should expect to receive a gift for hosting. Bergeron joked he’d “thought” about giving her a yacht, and it was the thought that counted. Eventually Remini did get a token of appreciation, but it may not have been the bit of glam she was expecting.
Bergeron gave her a bobblehead of himself.
Glad you like your gift. It was a toss up between my bobblehead and a Tiffany necklace https://t.co/9njmVm3bTe
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) October 19, 2015
While Dancing With the Stars is going forward without Andrews for the time being, she is getting insight from the players in competition for baseball’s biggest prize. It’s a role she also filled last year for Fox, when Remini also replaced her on Dancing With the Stars.
Last week, Tom and Leah had their own version of camaraderie, including the moment when Remini tried to replicate Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough’s lift, modeled on the movie Dirty Dancing . After an intro piece where Hough expressed his reluctance to perform the lift and a dance that got all 10s from the judges, Remini ran into Bergeron’s arms. He joked on Twitter he was still feeling the effects of the move.
Yeah…I’ve been at the gym all week. ? https://t.co/acipTcId9f
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) October 24, 2015
Monday’s episode is sure to delight fans of Dancing With the Stars who like big productions and behind-the-scenes hijinx. In a preview clip, it’s revealed there are elaborate costumes, props, and even a prank or two. The contestants also have to endure a change in routine as there are not only individual performances but team dances.
It’s Halloween in the ballroom, and that means scary good performances and team dances. Don’t miss it! #dwts https://t.co/psK3djT1iy
— Official DWTS (@DancingABC) October 25, 2015
The teams have “scary” names in keeping with the Halloween theme: Team #Nightmare and Team #WhoYouGonnaCall, the latter a reference to the comedy/paranormal classic movie Ghostbusters, which is set to get a reboot starring Melissa McCarthy. Nick, Tamar, Andy and Hayes are Team #Nightmare while Bindi, Alexa, Carlos and Alek are Team #WhoYouGonnaCall.
JustJared Jr. noted that Alexa Penavega and Carlos Penavega, the husband and wife who’ve been aiming for high spots on the leader board all season, are on the same team for the group dance. That was likely welcome news for the couple, who seemed uncomfortable with the idea of competing against each other.
With eight couples left in the competition, what started off as a lackluster season of Dancing With the Stars has become quite compelling. Last week, three couples got perfect scores: Irwin and Hough, Andy Grammer and Allison Holker, and Tamar Braxton and Valentin Chmerkovskiy. Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess weren’t far behind with a score of 39/40 and Carlos Penavega and Whitney Carson got 38/40. As Entertainment Weekly reported , Alexa Penavega and her partner Mark Ballas escaped elimination while food guru Paula Deen went home.
Dancing With the Stars airs 8 p.m. Mondays on ABC.
[Left photo Araya Diaz/Getty Images Entertainment; Right photo Angela Weiss/Getty Images Entertainment]