Will Derek Hough Return to Dancing With the Stars in Season 23?

The ballroom will be without a Hough in season 23.

Derek Hough will not be back as a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars when it returns in September, the fan-favorite revealed to E! News while promoting Hairspray Live! at NBC’s summer TCA press tour.

Don’t worry too much, though as the Emmy winner, who also sat out last season after winning season 21 with Bindi Irwin, said the door is always open for him to return.

“I’m not one for closing chapters in that way, especially for something that’s so important to me,” Derek told us, “and that’s been like family for so many tears. So, for me in my mind, that door is always open, and we’ll see!” 

As he said, the Dancing family is a huge part of Derek’s life, and he attended the July 31 wedding of professional dancer Kym Johnson and Shark Tank‘s Robert Herjavec, who fell in love after they were partnered together. “They’re really inspiring, their love is so visible,” Derek gushed of the happy couple.

As for the celebration? “Everyone was dancing, lots of dancing, lots of fun times,” Derek said. “It was great!”

While we’ll miss seeing him on DWTS, Derek will be busy this fall prepping for his next role: Corny Collins in NBC’s Hairspray Live!, the network’s next live musical production, which will air in December.

In a statement, NBC boss Robert Greenblatt said, “Hands-down the best dancer on television and one of the best in the entertainment business, Derek Hough, will be perfect in the role of Corny Collins, the cocky song-and-dance-man who hosts the TV show every teenager in Baltimore wants to be on.”

DWTS premieres Monday, Sept. 12 on ABC, while Hairspray Live! will air Dec. 7 on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)