‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 34: Will Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy Be Paired With Robert Irwin?

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After Robert Irwin’s participation in Dancing With the Stars Season 34 was announced at a Beverly Hills mansion party earlier this week, he took a seat with several DWTS pros at the “Hulu Gets Real” media mixer.

TV Insider spotted the zookeeper sitting right next to last year’s Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy winner, Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy (she hoofed to victory with The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei).

Did the impromptu seating arrangement reveal that Johnson Chmerkovskiy is going to be paired with Irwin? “I don’t know,” she replied to TV Insider. “[But] I would love to! We’ll see. I think that he’s the best candidate to be on the show. I’m excited to watch his journey.”

Johnson Chmerkovskiy is looking forward to the show returning in the fall. “I think especially after last season there is so much excitement and hype,” Johnson Chmerkovskiy says. “I hope that with Robert being announced, even more celebrities will want to do the show.”

What’s keeping her busy now? “I now have some time at home,” Johnson Chmerkovskiy says. “I’m so happy to be with my son. I’m doing some work things with Val, too.”

Valentin Chmerkovskiy recently wrapped up the eight-episode reality series Got to Get Out, in which a mix of 20 reality TV stars and newcomers attempted to escape a house in order to win a big cash prize.

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What might viewers have learned about Chmerkovskiy that they didn’t know before? “That I’m not as fast as I thought I was at running,” he quips. “I think there’s an opportunity to get to know me outside of the ballroom. So, they do. They get to know me in the kitchen and in casual conversation.”

Which cast members from Got to Get Out might fare well on DWTS? “Dancing is a very different format,” points out Chmerkovskiy, who takes a beat before adding, “I think Cynthia [Bailey, The Real Housewives of Atlanta] would do well on Dancing with the Stars. Spencer Pratt [The Hills] would be really funny.”

Whether or not Johnson Chmerkovskiy wins a back-to-back Mirrorball trophy remains to be seen. However, she will get her hands on that award in the finale if the show continues its tradition from last season in which the previous year’s winner hands the trophy to the new champion.

”[That] was everything,” Chmerkovskiy, who won DWTS Season 32 with Xochitl Gomez. “Watching my brother [Maksim Chmerkovskiy] win [in Season 18] and handing over the trophy to Jenna last season, those are my two favorite moments.”

Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, TBA, ABC