'Dancing With The Stars': Len Goodman Not Exiting the Show
Last month, it was reported that head "Dancing With the Stars" judge Len Goodman was leaving the show after its upcoming 20th season.
"Dancing with the Stars—next year is their 10th year, it's the 20th series of the show. So I think that's a nice place to stop," said Goodman in a previous interview.
However, executive producer Rob Wade tells E! News that Goodman is not exiting the hit ABC reality competition show after all.
"No, this is not Len's last season," said Wade.
"Len finished last season, did an interview afterwards and I think genuinely he's found it tough. That's why we only had him on for half the season last season. The travel, he's getting on a bit, and his mother, who's 97, is quite sick and needs help. He felt bad about being away," Wade explains. "He was tired and he felt bad about being away, he was exhausted…I had a lot of conversations before the last season about it … When he had the interview, he was like, 'Season 20 is a good place to end' because I think what Len felt, since he's such a good guy, he felt like if he went away for a season, we wouldn't [want] him back."
Wade also said that there's a chance that Goodman will be around for Season 21 "either as a part of, a small part, a big part, or a whole part of the season" and that for Season 22, the head judge will definitely be back on the judging table once they come to an agreement.
The executive producer also said that while Derek Hough will be sitting Season 20 out, his sister and new judge Julianne Hough is coming back. "This was her first season as a judge … I thought she got better and better. She's incredibly knowledgeable," said Wade of her.
"Dancing with the Stars" returns on March 16 on ABC.
