Cheryl Burke has revealed she will not be taking part in the upcoming tribute to Len Goodman on Dancing with the Stars. The former professional dancer took to Threads to share the news after being asked by fans.
She wrote: "For those of you asking if I’ll be a part of Len Goodman’s tribute next week on DWTS, unfortunately, I wasn’t invited; however, I’ll be there in spirit and can’t wait to cheer my former colleagues on! Sending love and light to everyone."
© Eric McCandlessEight original professional dancers are returning to the ballroom for week five to perform a special routine that will honor the former head judge, who died in April 2023. In response, one fan commented: "Wow, that's wrong of them to not include you. I feel like you were a major part of the show and should have been able to be part of it even if not in person."
"That is too bad because you were the reason we watched it every week years ago before the show changed so much!" added another.
© Getty ImagesPro dancers Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy are choreographing the tribute, which will be set to 'Moon River'.
Returning for the special occasion are Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Kym Johnson-Herjavec, Tony Dovolani, Anna Trebunskaya, Edyta Śliwińska, Karina Smirnoff, Louis van Amstel, and Mark Ballas, who won the Mirrorball Trophy last season.
Louis told TV Insider that the show's executive producer Deena Katz "reached out to us personally and asked us to participate".
"We all started in the early days of the show. Now, here we are again.”
© Eric McCandlessEdyta added: "Deena’s been there since the very beginning. She’s the heart and soul of the show. She thought it would be great to bring back some of the original dancers to do a tribute to Len.”
Cheryl joined the series in season two, and won it that year with her celebrity partner Drew Lachey. Cheryl went on to appear in 26 seasons, winning twice and coming in the top three six other times.
© Adam LarkeyLen was known for his no-nonsense approach to judging, preferring perfect technical details over extra touches that only added entertainment value, and his ethos has been one that Cheryl has often referenced during her weekly column for HELLO!
When critiquing Harry Jowsey and Rylee Arnold this past week, Cheryl wrote: "I was very impressed with Harry and Riley this week, because they attempted to stay in hold throughout the dance. Look, if Len Goodman was here, he would still probably get on at them – because you're not allowed to break hold except for the beginning and the end – but it would actually upset me because at the end of the day, they showed more content, more staying within frame, than any other couple doing a ballroom dance tonight, so good on them."
© Getty ImagesTo honor Len this season the show has also renamed the winner's trophy to be known as the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. During the premiere, host Julianne Hough called him "irreplaceable" as she showed the audience a glimpse of the newly designed trophy,
