Dancing With the Stars fans were shocked when they learned fan-favorite pros Sharna Burgessb, 34, and Artem Chigvintsev, 37, would not be returning for season 28. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Sharna at Debbie Durkin’s EcoLounge “Endless Summer Festival” on Sept. 20 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills about the possibility of returning as a pro in the future. “Absolutely,” Sharna said. “I mean, I’m going to be a judge on the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars again. We are coming back at the end of January for our second season. The first season was a massive hit. I love being a part of this family. This show has given me a life I could never have dreamt of. And it was eight and a half beautiful years with them. And who’s to say that was the end? I think I’ll always in some way be involved with Dancing with the Stars, whether it is on that dance floor or in another way. And so I am excited about that.”
Even though she was “unbelievably sad” not to be coming back, there is no bad blood between Sharna and the show. “I’m at peace with it,” Sharna continued. “I’m also at peace with it because I don’t think it’s the end of my relationship with the show. And so for me, I don’t see this as you weren’t good enough and you’ve been fired. It was, ‘Hey, we’ve got an idea for this show. We couldn’t put you in this season but we love you and, hopefully, we’ll be able to bring you back next season if you want to. That’s a much easier conversation than someone saying, ‘Yeah, you’re fired.’ It definitely wasn’t that for me. I’m good with it. I accept it. I hear the universe. I hear it telling me that there are things I’m supposed to be doing right now and I am for the first time in a long time back in that creative hustle of what more can I do and how much can I fit into this time that I now have and how far can I push it. For me that’s very, very exciting.”
Sharna was at the season 28 premiere and revealed the pair she thinks has what it takes to win the mirrorball trophy at the end of the season. “I will say I was so impressed with James [Van Der Beek] and Emma [Slater],” Sharna told HollywoodLife. “I think she’s got a real shot this season. I think that James is already the frontrunner and very lovable and has the most gorgeous children with the whitest blonde hair I’ve ever seen. And he’s obviously very, very talented. Does that mean he’ll win? No. She’s got a number on her back now because she is essentially the pick to win, which means everyone’s going to be gunning for her. I think that there are a lot of people that could also potentially get to that point. There’s a lot of talent in the cast. I think it’s a great cast this season.”
The cast this season also includes Lamar Odom, Kel Mitchell, Lauren Alaina, Ally Brooke, and more. Dancing With the Stars season 28 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.