Cheryl Burke Reveals Why She Was ‘So Nervous’ About Her ‘DWTS’ Return

Cheryl Burke made a triumphant return to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom on October 28. She wasn’t holding frame, but rather holding up paddles as she joined longtime colleagues Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli at the judges’ table.

TV Insider spoke with the two-time Mirrorball champion right after the show on the ballroom floor to get her thoughts on stepping back into the iconic ballroom in a new role. Burke happily accepted the show’s invitation to appear on the show as a judge. However, she admitted to having some opening night jitters, hastening to add that they soon dispelled once the competition commenced.

“I was so nervous before, and then, when I sat in the chair, I felt oddly relaxed,” she admitted. “It was a weird feeling in a good way because I think I had thought of every worst-case scenario in my head, as I tend to do. It felt like an out-of-body experience for those two hours in one way. I just tried not to overthink it. I reacted to what I saw, and I tried to focus on helping the couples with my comments.”

Burke gave competitors what she herself craved from judges when she was a Mirrorball contender. “I want feedback that I can take with me into the next week,” she said. “Yes, my celebrity partner wants to hear good things, but I could give that. I want to hear constructive criticism.”

Disney/Christopher Willard

Burke felt she accomplished her goal, especially when she critiqued Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach‘s Viennese waltz by telling The Traitors winner to lead with his legs and pretend someone was pulling his hair back. “I would have given Val [Chmerkovskiy] and Alix [Earle] at ‘10′ for their Tango if he didn’t break hold,” Burke revealed. “I don’t care if no one [else] mentions it because as far as I’m concerned, the rules have not changed.”

Does Burke consider herself a strict judge? “I think I’m staying in my lane and that’s my style,” she responded. “I’m not going to pretend that I know Contemporary or Jazz. I still don’t. Maybe that’s why I was nervous [in the beginning]?”

Burke also credited Ezra Sosa, who’s enjoying his second season as a dance pro, for his choreography with celebrity partner, Olympian Jordan Chiles. “He did a phenomenal job,” Burke raved. “Let’s give him credit. I think people expected her to be a gymnast [in her dances]. We know she can do that. Let’s not do what people expect. She can move, and she can also be emotional.”

“Cheryl did great,” Sosa told TV Insider, returning the compliment. “I loved her criticism, and I loved her feedback. I also feel like she’s had an itch to be a judge for so long. I’m very happy she had this chance.”

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“Cheryl’s great,” concurred Mark Ballas, who is paired with Whitney Leavitt from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. “She’s OG. I’ve known her since we were 12 and 13 years old. She knows what she’s saying and what she’s doing.”

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Burke, in fact, is savvy enough to know that it’s too soon to call who the finalists will be in this ultra-competitive season. “I can’t answer this until I see [couples] do two solo dances,” she said when asked to predict finalists for this season. “That will separate them. Next week, there’s a team dance, but when they do two dances in one week? Ask me then.”

As for her fellow judges, Burke gave them all a “10” for making her feel so welcome. “I’ve known Derek since he was 12,” Burke said with a smile. “I forgot to press my score for the first four couples, and they were all wonderful [to me]. Carrie Ann was so supportive. It just felt right being there with them. It felt like home.”

Judges don’t normally wear costumes, but since Burke was a guest judge on Halloween Night, she dressed up as Cleopatra. “I’m not used to wearing a beaded anything anymore,” Burke good-naturedly quipped to TV Insider. “This is 75 lbs. heavy! I think I was Cleopatra in a past life.”

Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+ (Streaming Next Day on Hulu)

For a more extended celebration of two decades of Dancing With the Stars, from exclusive interviews to retrospectives and must-see photos, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Dancing With the Stars 20th Anniversary special issue, available for purchase online at DWTS.TVGM2025.com and on newsstands now.

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