Dancing with the Stars announced the first two celebrities who will be competing for the mirrorball trophy in its upcoming season.
Stepping into the ballroom for the 35th season will be reality TV stars Maura Higgins and Ciara Miller.
The pair revealed the news on April 22, 2026, at Hulu’s Get Real House Live.
Where you’ve seen the new cast members
Maura Higgins is an Irish reality TV star who rose to fame as a finalist on the fifth season of Love Island.
Most recently, she took part in The Traitors US and finished as runner-up to Love Island USA contestant Rob Rausch.
At the announcement, Maura explained that her Traitors co-star and Dancing with the Stars professional dancer, Mark Ballas, told her the show would be “tough”.
“You’ve been manifesting this,” said Dancing with the Stars co-host Julianna Hough.
Maura agreed: “I have. I’m a strong believer in manifesting. I had it on my vision board.”
“And now it is happening, which I cannot believe, and I know it’s going to be so, so hard, but because I really want to do it, I’m going to put my all into it,” she continued.
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The reality TV star has also been a contestant on Dancing on Ice, Cooking with the Stars, and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!.
Ciara Miller is also a reality TV personality. She is best known for her appearances in Bravo’s Summer House (joining in Season 5) and Winter House.
She featured on The Traitors US in the season before Maura.
The reality TV star shared her thoughts on her Dancing with the Stars casting via video.
“I had some unfinished business here in New York City that I needed to wrap up, but I am so excited to join season 35,” she said.
“I feel like this is the perfect moment. I feel like I’m opening a new chapter, and I’m so excited to share it with all of you guys. Can’t wait to put my energy on the dance floor.”
“And Maura,” she continued, “I can’t wait to share the dance floor with my fellow Faithful.”
‘Dancing with the Stars’ spin-off announced
The show also teased its new spin-off, which is set to air this summer on ABC and Hulu.
The series will focus on trained dancers instead of celebrities. These dancers will compete to earn a position as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars.
The celebrities will thus not be the only new faces in the upcoming 35th season.
The spin-off is set to be hosted by Robert Irwin, the celebrity winner of the last season, alongside his professional partner, Witney Carson.
He competed against Alix Earle, Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron and Elaine Hendrix, and this season’s finale brought in a record-breaking 72 million votes.
Pro dancer Mark Ballas will judge the spin-off alongside his mother and Strictly Come Dancing judge, Shirley Ballas.
We will have to wait to see who will make up the rest of the cast.
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