Robert Irwin knows Dancing With the Stars is always hoping for a shirtless moment from him.
“This is Dancing With the Stars. They always make me take my clothes off,” Irwin, 22, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Disney 2026 Upfront Red Carpet.
Irwin attended the Tuesday, May 12, event to promote Dancing With the Stars spinoff The Next Pro, which will air this summer before DWTS season 35 kicks off. The show aims to find the next professional dancer for the main broadcast, which Irwin won in 2025 with partner Witney Carson.
Irwin told Us on Tuesday that going from the season 34 winner to hosting the new series was a surreal journey.
“Firstly, very surreal for me to be part of Dancing With the Stars full stop, because I have never danced. I have nothing to do with the world of dance at all. And I mean, I grew up catching snakes and rescuing crocodiles and like living and working at Australia Zoo,” he explained.
He continued, “But my sister did the show, and I watched her just love it, and I went, ‘Wow, maybe this is possible.’ When I got a chance to do it, it changed my life in so many ways, I think I got to bring my message to rooms that had never really been in. As a conservationist, as an environmental advocate, that was everything to me. But then also, to then stay part of that family was so meaningful.”
Irwin gushed that he has “gained friendships” and has people in his circle that “feel like family,” sharing that he will carry that with him “forever.”
“When they said, ‘Hey, do you want to host the next pro?’ I thought, ‘Wow, it’s an opportunity for people to really gain an understanding and an appreciation of what the Dancing With the Stars pros do.’ They’re the backbone of the show,” he explained. “And now to find the next pro, we get to show people the highs and the lows and the challenges. We get to bring back all the familiar faces from Dancing With the Stars over the years that we know and we love and create something that is new and fresh and so exciting.”
He continued, “Any expectation people have, it’s going to blow it out of the water. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m so excited for people to see it. They really threw a lot at it, and I think it’s going to be one for the history books.”
ABC announced in April that Irwin would be hosting the spinoff series, with pro Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley Ballas, serving as judges. The Ballas duo will also be joined by a rotating panel of guest judges and mentors.
“Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro features 12 exceptional up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process,” a logline reads. “[They are] all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer on season 35 of Dancing With the Stars.”
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