Danica McKellar Wanted Derek Hough as Her ‘DWTS’ Partner But Got Val

Danica McKellar is proof that Dancing With the Stars doesn’t pair celebrities with seasoned dance professionals based on requests.

McKellar, 49, joined Cheryl Burke on the Sunday, November 17, episode of the “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast, revealing that she didn’t request Val Chmerkovskiy as her partner during season 18 of the hit ABC competition show.

“[Producer] Deena Katz had texted me, and she said, ‘What’s your height? And I said, ‘Derek Hough height,’” McKellar joked. “But, anyway, then I got Val. It’s fine. It’s fine. I didn’t request him.”

Despite hoping to be matched with Hough, McKellar said she learned a lot from Chmerkovskiy, 38.

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“[I remember thinking] that he was, like, this cool guy. I got mister cool,” she added, referring to how her skills improved thanks to Chmerkovskiy’s tutorship. “I knew that I was getting better.”

McKellar admitted that there were highs and lows to appearing on DWTS, saying, “It’s much harder than they show in the packages, because it would bum people out to see how stressful it is. It just wouldn’t be as fun anymore for people.”

She continued: “I’ve always loved dance. But I remember telling somebody it was like, if you love chocolate and somebody puts you in a vat of chocolate and then holds your head under it — that’s what Dancing with the Stars is like. And every now and then, you get a breath.”

Chmerkovskiy previously discussed what he was looking for in a celebrity DWTS partner when he praised his collaboration with Gabby Windey.

“She’s a great student. She knows how to take direction and she doesn’t take things personally. With me, I think that’s, like, the biggest thing. There’s a very — and I wouldn’t say it’s a thin line — I think it’s a very clear difference between being hard and demanding accountability when it comes to the work that we do on the show. In regards [to] me, at least,” he exclusively told Us Weekly back in 2022. “I try not to venture into being a dick as much as I can. I do have dick moments, but she thankfully is patient enough to understand that.”

At the time, Chmerkovskiy said their onscreen partnership benefited from the fact that he was able to communicate with Windey, 33, so easily.

“I’m the first to say that the patience that you want from me when it comes to teaching you how to dance [is] what I would love back,” he continued. “I have moments [that are] not my best moments, but once those moments pass I’ll be the first to make them right. [So] Gabby has been wonderful to work with and I’m only as good as my partner.”

Chmerkovskiy hinted that he was in a better space than in years prior, adding, “I’m in such a different mental place than I was if you asked me this question, like, five years ago. I would’ve given you a little bit more bravado [in my] answer [years ago]. But I definitely feel like it’s a different type of season for me. It definitely is a new feeling for me.”

Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and streams on Disney+ the next day.