Maksim Chmerkovskiy decided to return to Dancing with the Stars' eighteenth season as a pro dancer but only after he apparently turned down a higher-profile opportunity.
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"I had that option. I can't reveal a lot, but I was offered a judge's position on the show. This was my decision [to return as a pro], Chmerkovskiy told NBC's Today show.
Chmerkovskiy was absent from Dancing with the Stars' sixteenth and seventeenth seasons, however, he served as a guest judge in one episode last season when mainstay judge Len Goodman needed a fill-in.
Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli have been Dancing with the Stars' three judges dating all the way back to the show's first season, and Chmerkovskiy's invitation to join the panel would have seemingly resulted in one of those three judges being given the boot by ABC.
However, shakeup wouldn't have been entirely surprising since ABC already fired Brooke Burke-Charvet as co-host as well as longtime Dancing with the Stars music director Harold Wheeler and his 28-member orchestra. The show is replacing Burke-Charvet with sports broadcaster Erin Andrews and Wheeler with former American Idol music director Ray Chew and his line-up of live musicians.
While Chmerkovskiy declined the opportunity to become a judge on the reality dancing competition, he admitted to Today he had second thoughts about even returning as a pro dancer.
"There was a moment when I asked myself, 'Why? Why? Why? You've done enough! Another 10 weeks of routines and stress and pressure?'" he said.
Chmerkovskiy has made it to Dancing with the Stars' Final 3 four times yet never won a title. He first appeared as a pro on the show's second season and has competed in 14 seasons total.
Chmerkovskiy is set to be paired with Sochi Olympics ice dancing gold medalist Meryl Davis for Dancing with the Stars' upcoming eighteenth season, which premieres Monday, March 17 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
