Finally! The Cast of Season 12 of Dancing with the Stars!

Speculation is great, but knowledge is much better!

Tonight during The Bachelor (not my cup of tea) the cast of season 12 of Dancing with the Stars was announced, and here they are:

Chelsea Kane - obligatory Disney youngster
The original Karate Kid Ralph Macchio
Model (she won't last long, models never do) Petra Nemcova
Retired wrestler Chris Jericho
Reality star and girl next door Kendra Wilkinson
Wide receiver and Superbowl MVP Hines Ward
Talk show host Wendy Williams
"Loveline" host Mike Catherwood
Very loud actress Kirstie Alley
Rapper Romeo (formerly know as Lil' Romeo)
Boxing Legend Sugar Ray Leonard
It's good that we know the cast and I'm going to have to digest it a little.  First impression is that it's not as good as previous seasons, but we'll see!

Six DWTS Season 12 Celebrities Exposed?

TMZ are reporting 6 of the 11 couples in the new season of Dancing with the Stars (thanks to puredwts.com).

They are:

– Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke
– Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
– Lil' Romeo & Chelsie Hightower
– Kendra Wilkinson & Louis van Amstel
– Wendy Williams & Tony Dovolani
– Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas

Lil' Romeo and Chelsea Kane are new rumors; the others were already talked about.

Interesting there will be only 11 couples!

Dancing with the Stars Football Player - Hines Ward?

InsidePittsburghSports.com is reporting that Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward is on his way to LA for tomorrow's announcement of the cast.

Hines would be a valid competitor and would be only the third football competitor still playing (after Jason Taylor and Ochoconco - thanks to commentators).

It could be a hoax of course!

We find out the Stars on Monday, The Pairings on Wednesday

According to a tweet by the lovable Mr Louis van Amstel we won't know the parings for the new season on Dancing with the Stars until Wednesday.

We'll find out the Stars during The Bachelor on Monday night, but as with last season, the actual pairings won't be revealed until Wednesday morning on Good Morning America.

Watch the bachelor mon nite, like last season, to find out the new cast of DWTS. Wed on GMA the pairings will b announced!

less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Louis Van Amstel
LouisVanAmstel

Perez Hilton Adds Another to the DWTS 12 Rumors

PerezHilton.com is reporting that three more have been added to the Dancing with the Stars line up:

Kendra Wilkinson - yeah that rumor was around in January
Wendy Williams - been around for a couple of weeks
And...

Kirstie Alley!

Kirstie was rumored for last season so it's not an unreasonable rumor and Perez Hilton has some good sources.

I think she'll be fun!  I can see her with Maks!  What do you think?

Faye Dunaway on DWTS 12

If this is true then it's one of the classier stars they have had for a while!

Rumorfix is reporting that the 70 year old actress will be appearing in season 12.

Faye Dunaway is a pretty big star for people of a certain age, I'm not sure how she might connect with the youngsters.

We'll find out on Monday!

Who Isn't Doing Dancing with the Stars?

Rumors for the new season are few and far between but we have had a handful of star confirm they are not on the show.

Candace Cameron Bure (of Full House fame) tweeted:

Nope RT @jacobsnchz: Any chance you'll be on Dancing with the Stars this season...??less than a minute ago via EchofonCandace Cameron Bure
candacecbure

Well, that's pretty clear!

Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction had a similar message:

HAHA! Um, no. RT @ljburton1125: @davenavarro6767 Any truth to the rumor that you will be on Dancing with the Stars??less than a minute ago via ÜberTwitterDave Navarro
davenavarro6767

LeeAnne Rimes is reported to have said she has been asked a few times but isn't going to do it this year.

The Reverand Al Sharpton has confirmed he won't be appearing.  I think he would be great!

Digging Up Old DWTS Rumors

The folks over at Pure DWTS are wondering if Lee Meriwether is going to be on the show. She has started to follow Dancing with the Stars related people on Twitter and was rumored to be on the show last year. The same thing had crossed my mind too.

A number of rumored guests in the past have actually appeared in later seasons.  Examples include Florence Henderson, Margaret Cho, Melissa Joan Hart, Donny Osmond (season 9 winner) and Jennifer Grey (season 11 winner).  Also, Rebecca Budig was rumored to be on the show but ended up winning Skating with the Stars!

So here are some old rumors that may still have some legs:

• Leslie Jordan - actor and comedian who was Beverly Leslie on Will and Grace
• Vera Wang - fashion designer.  The rumor was that she was going to be on the show but fell out over who was designing her costume.
• Lou Ferrigno - bodybuilder,actor and Incredible Hulk.  Lou was up for the show a couple of times but his agent/wife threw a fit when he didn't get on, so he probably won't be appearing
• Marilu Henner - actress from "Taxi" has said she'd like to be on the show, also hosted the PBS show, America's Ballroom Challenge
• Married couple Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek) and Genie Francis (Laura as in "Luke and Laura" from General Hospital - this was wishful thinking by Tom Bergeron I think but it would be great to see them on the show.  It would attract soap fans and Trekkies.
• Steve Wonder - the legendary singer was rumored to be on the show a year or two ago.  It'd be quite a catch!
• Jodie Sweetin - Full House actress.  Jodie has been rumored for a while but it could just be because the longest campaign to get on the show ever
• Danielle Fishel - Topanga from Boy Meets World.  Danielle is the host of "The Dish"
• Greg Louganis - Olympic Swimmer.  Greg has been a perenial rumored contestant
• Sig Hansen - Fisherman.  Sig adores the show and has been talking about being on it for quite a while.

No guarantees, but I bet at least one on the list (including Ms Meriwether) appears on the show!

Are there any old rumors you'd like to recycle?

DWTS After Brooke Mueller? This is Getting Silly!

Radar Online is reporting that Charlie Sheen's estranged wife Brooke Mueller is in talks to appear on Dancing with the Stars.  Here's a quote from the article:

"Brooke's agent and Dancing's producers are in talks about her competing on the show," a source close to the situation told RadarOnline.com. "No formal offer has been made yet, but Brooke is a huge fan of the show, and would probably agree to appear given the opportunity."

I believe Brooke's biggest claim to fame is being harassed and abused by Charlie Sheen.  That would put her in the "even sillier than Bristol Palin" category.  But, since last season was successful, I think anything could happen!

(Radar Online: http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/02/exclusive-charlie-sheens-estranged-wife-brooke-mueller-talks-go-dwts).

Dancing with the Stars Premiere Date and Cast Announcement

It's finally official - Dancing with the Stars will return on March 21 with a two hour premiere!  The results show will be the next week which means all celebrities should dance at least twice.

The cast will be announced February 28 during The Bachelor (the things they do to push that show...).

ABC have confirmed the whole gang with be back - Tom, Brooke, Carrie Ann, Bruno and Len.

There is no word on how many stars there will be nor if there will be any (in the words of Len Goodman) "messin' abaht" in terms of theme nights etc.

Other than Derek Hough sitting out this season there is no news on which professional dancers will participate.

Can't wait!

DWTS Related Books - A Couple of Burkes

There are a couple of books coming out from Dancing with the Stars stars Brooke Burke and Cheryl Burke.

First off, Brooke Burke is releasing "The Naked Mom: A Modern Mom's Fearless Revelations,Savvy Advice, and Soulful Reflections" today.

The book is about motherhood in general and specifically the challenges for today's celebrity mom.

It covers tips about caring for your body, the missteps she's made as a mother and advice about how to handle the tough emotional challenges moms face,

She's also naked on the cover.

Cheryl's new book - Dancing Lessons: How I Found Passion and Potential on the Dance Floor and in Life (why are the titles so long??) - has already been covered in the media concentratying on some of the challenges Cheryl has had, specifically the fact that she was molested as a child and the comments a couple of years ago that she was overweight.  The book also covers her growth and development as a dancer and offers some behind the scenes insights from ballroom dancing and Dancing with the Stars.

Both come out just before season 12 which should give them a boost in sales.