FormerDancing with the Starsmirror ball champion andnew co-hostAlfonso Ribeirois excited to see the cast of season 31 shake it on the floor, but there’s one contestant in particular whose time on the show he’s intrigued to watch.“Well, to be honest with you, I don’t what everybody’s going to look like,” the 50-year-old tells PEOPLE while partnering withThe Original Donut Shopover a cup of their new SNICKERS flavored coffee. “I will say that I am so interested to see Selma Blair’s journey. It’s such a groundbreaking moment for the show to havesomeone [with Multiple sclerosis]be able to come and do the show. I think it’s going to be a wonderful story this season. How well she can do physically is yet to be seen, but I can’t wait to see that story.“While the show has seen its fair share of dancers from all walks off life, the50-year-old actresswill be the first contestant in the ballroom todance with MS.ABC/Andrew EcclesHaving revealed herdiagnosisin August 2018, Blair has been open about her journey with the disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack the brain and spinal cord. Thanks to a stem cell transplant, theCruel Intentionsstar has defied odds and is currently in remission.“I’m trying to develop a love story with life right now,” she shared with PEOPLE while discussing her documentary,Introducing, Selma Blair. “Things are coming along for sure. I really do feel like a new person.“WhileFresh Prince of Bel-Airstar Ribeiro is excited about seeing how Blair will perform, he’s almost just as excited to see how the rest of the cast will fare.“I think Jessie James Deckeris going to be fantastic,” he predicts. “Wayne Bradyis going to be fantastic.Jordin Sparksis going to be fantastic.“Teresa Giudice, Wayne Brady and Selma Blair.getty (3)The cast is so strong that Ribeiro’s thinks it’s really hard to predict a winner any time soon, regardless of the celebrities' backgrounds.“I think it’s clear thatCharli and Heidi D’Ameliowill be great,” the new co-host adds. “The thing that’s going to be interesting is especially for a young girl, [like] Charli, can she showcase personality when it’s live and on camera versus in six and 28-second TikTok videos? That’s going to be a difficult challenge I think for her, but I’ve already spoken toMark [Ballas]and Mark says she’s super, super excited and she wants to learn. It’ll be interesting to see all of that. There’s a lot of wonderful stories this season and I think it’s going to be fun to watch.“The show revamped the last couple seasons with its hostTyra Banksand Ribeiro is excited to be added to the roster as a new co-host, though he knows he has big shoes to fill after his friendTom BergeronandErin Andrews' 2020 departures.“It’s definitely something I wanted to do after Tom left,” Ribeiro says. “I was like, ‘Wow, that could actually be interesting.’ I never would’ve wanted to come in and take Tom’s place in any way and Erin’s place. I loved them so much. It was like that would’ve never really happened even if it was offered to me. But now that they’ve been gone for a couple of seasons and Tyra was there and now with the show going to Disney+, they needed to have a second person because there’s no commercial breaks. So with that, it makes that job much harder when you don’t have the ability to reset, and so it needed to be two people. Coming back and being on the show, I’ve loved the show. I’ve loved the show from the very beginning and I’ve said it a billion times. I’m excited to be back in the ballroom with all my friends.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Dancing with the Starspremieres Monday at 8 p.m. ET on Disney+.
FormerDancing with the Starsmirror ball champion andnew co-hostAlfonso Ribeirois excited to see the cast of season 31 shake it on the floor, but there’s one contestant in particular whose time on the show he’s intrigued to watch.
“Well, to be honest with you, I don’t what everybody’s going to look like,” the 50-year-old tells PEOPLE while partnering withThe Original Donut Shopover a cup of their new SNICKERS flavored coffee. “I will say that I am so interested to see Selma Blair’s journey. It’s such a groundbreaking moment for the show to havesomeone [with Multiple sclerosis]be able to come and do the show. I think it’s going to be a wonderful story this season. How well she can do physically is yet to be seen, but I can’t wait to see that story.”
While the show has seen its fair share of dancers from all walks off life, the50-year-old actresswill be the first contestant in the ballroom todance with MS.
ABC/Andrew Eccles
Having revealed herdiagnosisin August 2018, Blair has been open about her journey with the disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack the brain and spinal cord. Thanks to a stem cell transplant, theCruel Intentionsstar has defied odds and is currently in remission.
“I’m trying to develop a love story with life right now,” she shared with PEOPLE while discussing her documentary,Introducing, Selma Blair. “Things are coming along for sure. I really do feel like a new person.”
WhileFresh Prince of Bel-Airstar Ribeiro is excited about seeing how Blair will perform, he’s almost just as excited to see how the rest of the cast will fare.
“I think Jessie James Deckeris going to be fantastic,” he predicts. “Wayne Bradyis going to be fantastic.Jordin Sparksis going to be fantastic.”
Teresa Giudice, Wayne Brady and Selma Blair.getty (3)
The cast is so strong that Ribeiro’s thinks it’s really hard to predict a winner any time soon, regardless of the celebrities' backgrounds.
“I think it’s clear thatCharli and Heidi D’Ameliowill be great,” the new co-host adds. “The thing that’s going to be interesting is especially for a young girl, [like] Charli, can she showcase personality when it’s live and on camera versus in six and 28-second TikTok videos? That’s going to be a difficult challenge I think for her, but I’ve already spoken toMark [Ballas]and Mark says she’s super, super excited and she wants to learn. It’ll be interesting to see all of that. There’s a lot of wonderful stories this season and I think it’s going to be fun to watch.”
The show revamped the last couple seasons with its hostTyra Banksand Ribeiro is excited to be added to the roster as a new co-host, though he knows he has big shoes to fill after his friendTom BergeronandErin Andrews' 2020 departures.
“It’s definitely something I wanted to do after Tom left,” Ribeiro says. “I was like, ‘Wow, that could actually be interesting.’ I never would’ve wanted to come in and take Tom’s place in any way and Erin’s place. I loved them so much. It was like that would’ve never really happened even if it was offered to me. But now that they’ve been gone for a couple of seasons and Tyra was there and now with the show going to Disney+, they needed to have a second person because there’s no commercial breaks. So with that, it makes that job much harder when you don’t have the ability to reset, and so it needed to be two people. Coming back and being on the show, I’ve loved the show. I’ve loved the show from the very beginning and I’ve said it a billion times. I’m excited to be back in the ballroom with all my friends.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Dancing with the Starspremieres Monday at 8 p.m. ET on Disney+.
source: people.com
