Cheryl Burke Announces Return To ‘DWTS,’ Reveals NFL Star Terrell Owens Is Celebrity Partner For Season 25
Cheryl Burke is back where she belongs—in the Dancing With the Stars ballroom. On the heels of her stint as Abby Lee Miller’s replacement on Dance Moms, the popular pro dancer has revealed that she is headed back to ABC’s celebrity ballroom competition for its landmark 25th season. Burke’s DWTS return marks her 20th season on the show. With two mirror ball wins under her belt, Cheryl Burke says she’s eyeing a third.
“Guess who’s back in the ballroom?!” Cheryl posted to Instagram. “So excited to share that I’m officially back for my 20th season of Dancing With the Stars! This dance floor will always be my home and I’ve got my eyes on that mirror ball.”
Cheryl Burke’s return to Dancing With the Stars is a bit of a surprise. Earlier this summer, Burke told Entertainment Tonight that there was little chance that she would return to the show due to her busy schedule with her 30-stop “Love on the Floor” tour.
“Unless they want to just give me an amazing dance partner that will travel the United States with me and I just show up on Mondays like, ‘Yes, guys, we have worked so hard,'” Burke joked to ET in June.
“I do not think it is possible. I really do not, unless they want to have two pros helping. But it is on its 25th season coming up, so I am sure it will happen another 25 seasons, as I teach someone in my walker at that point.”
At the time, Burke expressed more interest in the upcoming DWTS spinoff, Dancing With the Stars: Junior.
“I would love to be a judge or a host,” Cheryl said. “Especially coming from Dance Moms, I understand how these kids work.
But now it appears that Cheryl Burke got that “amazing” dance partner. More than a decade after she last won a mirror ball trophy with NFL star Emmitt Smith, Cheryl Burke will be partnered with legendary wide receiver Terrell Owens. The DWTS duo made the announcement on Tuesday’s Good Morning America, where Cheryl revealed that T.O. has no dance experience.
Still, football players traditionally do very well on Dancing With the Stars. Smith was so light on his feet he was nicknamed “Twinkletoes,” and last season Rashad Jennings won the mirror ball trophy, marking the fourth time an NFL star won the ABC celebrity ballroom competition.
T.O.! Legendary wide receiver @terrellowens joins @CherylBurke this season on #DWTS! ?#DancingOnGMA pic.twitter.com/wfu0WhCo7D
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@officialdwts) September 5, 2017
While the Dancing With the Stars pro dancers have been announced, ABC has been careful about releasing the names of their celebrity partners. The network has teased the partnerships by posting photos of the pro dancers with the hands of their celeb partners. Ahead of Burke’s partnership with T.O., the first official Season 25 couple announced was Property Brothers star Drew Scott and reigning Dancing With the Stars champ Emma Slater.
Cheryl Burke won two back-to-back seasons of Dancing With the Stars in 2006, with celebrity partners Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith. Cheryl most recently competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2016, when she was partnered with Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and eliminated in Week 8.
[Featured Image by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Images]
