Entertainment
‘DWTS’ reveals Ciara Miller, Maura Higgins as Season 35 contestants
April 23, 2026, 1:09 a.m. ET
LOS ANGELES — “Dancing with the Stars” Season 35 is heating up with the announcement of its first cast members.
Two “Traitors” alumni were revealed as contestants for the upcoming fall season at Hulu’s Get Real House event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, April 22.
Maura Higgins, a famously betrayed finalist on the recently aired “Traitors” Season 4 who rose to fame as a fiery “Love Island” contestant in the U.K., and Ciara Miller, the “Summer House” star who has been making headlines for an apparent betrayal in her personal life, will be competing on the upcoming season.
The full cast, and the pro dancers they’re paired with, will be revealed at a later date. The season will premiere this fall on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.
‘Traitors,’ ‘Love Island’ star Maura Higgins has ‘two left feet’
If you ask Higgins, the “DWTS” call was the result of manifestation.
“I manifested it really hard. It’s on my vision board,” the 35-year-old tells USA TODAY. “It’s the one show I really want to do. This is the last show I really want to do as a contestant.”
The Ballymahon, Ireland-born reality star turned down the Irish version of “Dancing with the Stars” and the U.K.’s hit competition show “Strictly Come Dancing” in the hopes that she would land on the U.S. producers’ radar.
“I turned down anything that would jeopardize ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in America,” Higgins says. “I’m just being honest. I really wanted this one.”
As for her partner, she’s praying for longtime pro Mark Ballas. But in the meantime, her plans are to rest her “two left feet” until rehearsals begin in August.
“I’m not going to start working my ass off now, because by the time August comes, I’ll be absolutely shattered,” she confesses. “I’m going to take some daytime naps, because I’m going need it.”
‘Summer House’ star Ciara Miller finishing ‘some unfinished business’
Miller was not able to attend the Los Angeles event due to other work obligations, but she sent a video expressing her excitement about joining the “DWTS.”
“I wanted to be there. I wish I could be there, but I had some unfinished business in New York that I need to wrap up,” she said. “But I am so excited to join Season 35. I feel like this is the perfect moment; I’m opening a new chapter. I can’t wait to put my energy on the dance floor.”