‘Dancing With The Stars’ Returning To New Zealand; John Campbell Not Included

“Dancing with the Stars” is coming back to New Zealand. The international reality dance competition has been added to the TV3 local line-up, and which will see 10 Kiwi stars — not including John Campbell — competing for the highly coveted mirror ball trophy.

The show, based on the format of the original British series “Strictly Come Dancing,” was previously aired on TVNZ. It lasted for five seasons and had seen a politician, a beauty queen, an All Black star, a British personality and an international sportswoman bagging the title.

After six years of absence on air, DWTS will once again take the dance floor. Ten Kiwi stars will be entertaining viewers every week with choreographed numbers with their pre-selected professional dance partners. The format will follow the previous show’s and the international versions’. The judges’ scores will be combined with the viewers’ vote every week to determine which couple will stay and which one will go.

“This new local series of Dancing with the Stars is going to be fantastic. It’s set to be packed with more stars, dancing and drama than ever before. The series is a stunning addition to our massive 2015 line up, helping up to deliver the very best in entertainment to all New Zealanders,” Andrew Szusterman, Group Entertainment Content Director, said in a statement.

TV3’s official website and its other social media pages will also feature extensive extra coverage of the show. The airdate hasn’t been announced yet, as well as the ten Kiwi stars participating in the new season.

Whoever are joining the show probably will not include John Campbell. The “Campbell Live” host tricked his social media followers after claiming he was the first contestant confirmed on DWTS. The program even changed its Facebook photo to a digitally manipulated photo of Campbell’s face on a dancer’s body.

While some viewers were fooled by Campbell’s prank, there were also others who expressed their doubt. They were right to question the announcement, though. It turned out it was just an early April Fools’ Day prank.