Dancing With the Stars' Season 35 debut may still be few months away, but it’s never too early to start rehearsing. (The celebs, not viewers.) The upcoming season already has a few celebrity contestants revealed to be competing in the ballroom later in the 2026 TV schedule, including Traitors and Love Island star Maura Higgins. She is preparing early, and longtime pro Val Chmerkovskiy is the pro already whipping her into shape.
It was previously announced that Higgins would be competing on Season 35 of DWTS, fresh off of The Traitors Season 4, where she was the runner-up to Rob Rausch. Higgins expressed interest in wantingTraitors co-star Mark Ballas as her pro partner, especially given his return to the ballroom last year, but it seems like another pro is filling that slot, at least in the video Higgins shared of herself dancing with Chmerkovskiy. They definitely looked pretty great together, as seen below:
As much fun as it would be to see Ballas and Higgins reunite in the ballroom after their time on The Traitors, just seeing her dance with Chmerkovskiy has me thinking about the potential. However, it hasn’t been confirmed that Chmerkovskiy will be returning to DWTS, and while there hasn’t been any indication he’s leaving the long-running dance competition series, a pro’s return is never guaranteed. Robert Irwin’s new reality show, DWTS: The Next Pro, doesn’t exactly make it better.
Regardless of who Higgins’ partner is, it’s definitely clear that she is going to be a contestant that fans will want to keep an eye on. The full cast for DWTS Season 35, both celebrities and pros, won’t be announced until the fall, likely September, but that doesn’t mean the rehearsals can’t already begin. I’m definitely getting excited for this new season, and it’s clear that Higgins is as well.
Meanwhile, joining Higgins in the ballroom for Season 35 so far includes Summer House and The Traitors star Ciara Miller and Savannah Bananas’ Jackson Olson. It’s unknown if more contestants will be revealed before the full cast is unveiled, but you never know what could happen. If anything, Higgins isn’t taking any chances and is willing to start rehearsing, even if just for fun, early to secure the Mirrorball.
As for who else could be joining DWTS, the theories and dream casting began a while ago, with both fans and pros throwing names out. Olympic figure skater Alyssa Liu previously shared she has no interest in doing DWTS right now unlike some of her fellow Olympians, while Ballas and other DWTS pros have put a lot of effort in getting The Traitors winner Rob Rausch to come aboard. More and more Traitors stars are doing DWTS, and even though there are already two competing in Season 35, a third one couldn’t hurt.
Fans may just have to wait and see, come fall, who all will be competing and what the pairings will be like. For now, recent seasons of DWTS can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription.
