‘Dancing With the Stars’: Derek Hough Predicts Connor Wood Will Make Season 35 Finale

Connor Wood doesn’t always get the best scores on Dancing With the Stars, but Derek Hough still thinks he has staying power in the competition. In fact, the Season 35 judge predicts Wood will be one of the contestants who makes it all the way to the finale.

“He could absolutely do it,” Hough, who has been named Mucinex’s Chief Recharge Officer ahead of cold and flu season, tells TV Insider. “Honestly, I personally think I believe he’ll be in the finale. I believe that.”

Hough notes that “there’s a glow around” Wood and his pro partner, Rylee Arnold. “I think they have such a great partnership,” he adds. “And that’s the thing, you could not have the right things technically. He did samba the other week, and that’s the hardest dance on the show. There’s more requirements in that, technically, than a salsa or jazz, but man, people love him. I love him. He’s such a good dude. We have the same friends, and he’s a good man.”

Just days after this interview was conducted, Wood had his breakout performance when he and Arnold danced a contemporary on Horror Movie Night. They earned their first 10s of the season from Hough and Carrie Ann Inaba, and scored a 37/40 total from the judges. That, coupled with their viewer votes, helped them make it through another elimination, and now, they’re just three episodes away from the Finals.

Disney/Eric McCandless

“I think Connor is incredibly popular. I think people are rooting for him,” Hough adds. “They want him to do well, so I think he has a fanbase that can push him all the way to win. Then, you obviously have Ezra Frech, who is extraordinary. I’m not even going to mention his prosthetic or anything like that because I don’t even need to. He’s great. He’s a great dancer.”

Hough admits that there are “so many” great dancers this season, but points to Frech and Amber Glenn as the “most consistent.” However, he notes, “Things have been evolving a little bit, and they’re shifting. I think people’s perspective is shifting week by week.”

Between judging Dancing With the Stars, hosting Extra, preparing for his upcoming holiday tour, and being a new dad (he and Hayley Erbert welcomed their daughter in December 2025), Hough is certainly keeping busy these days, which is why he’s teamed up with Mucinex Recharge, available at Walmart, to help consumers get the rest they deserve at night to wake up recharged for the day ahead.

Mucinex

Related

'DWTS' Schedule Change for Disney Night, Explained

“Getting that good night’s sleep, and especially those cold and flu symptoms being relieved at night, it’s so important,” Hough says. “I actually use Mucinex. It’s very reliable. So it’s worked out well. It helps because I can’t be doing any of these things, these projects, unless I get that good night’s sleep. So it’s important.”

While the pro dancer tries to get six to eight hours of sleep a night, he ultimately feels blessed to be able to do everything he loves, regardless of how much time it takes up. “I love everything that I do,” he points out. “I love dancing. I love performing. I love getting ready for my tour and being on Dancing with the Stars, of course. And yeah, I’m lucky. And I like being tired. Anne Hathaway said it in an interview recently where she goes, ‘I love being tired because of why I’m tired.’ And Mucinex Recharge, it gives me that cold and flu symptom relief at night so I can wake up in the morning feeling ready to go, feeling recharged.”

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Episode 8, Monday, November 2, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+