With mounting speculation about the future of Dancing with the Stars Australia, Seven has finally addressed it, and fans won’t be happy.
The show was put on ice in 2026, but will it be returning in the new year?
After Seven didn’t mention the reality show at its 2027 Upfronts, Chief Content Officer Brook Hall has shared an update.
“Dancing with the Stars, we can’t fund that model, even though it’s one of my favourite shows. It rates really high, great entertainment,” he explained to TV Tonight.
“But we’re not vacating that space.”
He added that the current economic climate has also impacted which shows have made the cut.
“There’s no doubt there’s cost pressures, but I think it’s important to note that TV, as everyone’s aware, has had a fundamental change,” he continued.
“What’s going through right now is a world economy problem, on top of something we were already restructuring. If you’re not government-funded, every business (has been sacking people). There’s just pressure on everyone’s bottom line,” he said.
“Everyone’s being squeezed with the financial situation… every industry like tech, banks TV, and we’re just part of that. Obviously we’re ad-supported, so we could feel it a bit quicker. The encouraging thing is we tend to recover quickest coming out.”
While the comments are specifically about 2027, it doesn’t mean it’s off the cards in 2028.
Despite DWTS being put on pause for a second year, Seven instead secured I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Australia, which is set to air next year.
Australian Idol‘s Ricki-Lee Coulter and The 1% Club’s Jim Jefferies will take over from Robert Irwin and Julia Morris.
Some might raise their eyebrows at the surprising pairing, but New Idea hears a chemistry test won network bosses over.
“On paper, Jim and Ricki-Lee are probably the last two people you’d expect to host a family entertainment show together,” an industry insider spilled.
“But that’s exactly what makes this so interesting. Their chemistry was apparently fantastic. They bounced off each other naturally, and the combination just worked.”
