This week, "Dancing with the Stars" aired its season 21 finale which saw Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough win the Mirror Ball Trophy. And while the cast of the ABC show celebrated their victory, it looks like the pros and judges Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Julianne Hough have another reason to be happy as Len Goodman confirmed that he will be returning to the show for its 22nd season.
Goodman made the announcement via a message from the U.K. during the finale. The 71-year-old began by saying that he has been watching the show from the U.K. and that everyone has been doing "a fantastic job."
"Now you finalists, I want you to give it your all in these last dances. As for the pros, I've got a mention for you as well. Listen up: Len is coming back next season. And I don't want any of your nonsense," he said.
Last year, Goodman announced that he won't be returning for season 21 as he wanted to spend more time with his family, and it was reported that he had scheduling conflicts with "Strictly Come Dancing," the British version of the ABC show which he also appears on. In Goodman's absence, season 20 champion Alfonso Ribeiro, former "DWTS" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and Olivia Newton-John have each taken a turn at the judges' table.
Meanwhile, E! Online reports that Derek Hough has hinted that he might not be back for another season on the show. His win with Irwin marks the sixth time that he has won the Mirror Ball Trophy, and in an interview with E! the dancer said that he doesn't know if he will be back for season 22 of the dancing competition show.
"I don't know, who knows," said Derek, when asked if he will be returning for the upcoming season. "I have to say this isn't a bad way to go out."
"Dancing with the Stars" returns for its 22nd season on Monday, March 21, 2016 at 8/7c on ABC.
