Inside DWTS judge Derek Hough’s biggest moments | TV Shows

Dancing With the Stars judge Derek Hough has been a long-time presence on the show and has had many stand-out moments over practically 20 years of tv.

Hough, 41, joined the ABC show as a DWTS professional during its fifth season at just 22 years previous and has grow to be one of its most iconic faces since, with major career-making moments and personal milestones stemming from his time on the show.

The new dad, who welcomed his daughter with spouse Hayley Erbert at the end of 2025, is now 41, and his time on the show doesn’t appear probably to end anytime soon.

While he now sits behind the judges’ desk and hung up his professional competitor sneakers a number of years in the past, followers still take pleasure in instances when he heads to the ballroom ground for shifting routines, as he also serves up criticism for both celebs and other execs who are vying for the Mirrorball trophy.

In honor of Hough’s forty first birthday, right here’s a look at some of the biggest standout moments from his tenure on Dancing With the Stars.

Derek holds the file for most mirrorball wins

Derek joined the show as a professional dancer at just 22-years-old, making his debut in the fifth season, where he danced alongside Jennie Garth. While he hasn’t competed as a professional since the show’s twenty third season, he still holds the most spectacular file when it comes to not only wins, but total finishes on the show.

Throughout 17 aggressive seasons, Derek and his companions never completed below sixth place, with Shannon Elizabeth and Marilu Henner the only two to be eradicated at that level of the competitors, and Lil’ Kim inserting fifth with him during her season. Every other season he competed, he either reached the semi-finals or finals, ending 4th with Garth, Joanna Krupa, Maria Menounos, Bethany Moda, and Nastia Liukin.

His other finals noticed him end third with Ricki Lake and 2nd with Shawn Johnson and Amy Purdy.

He holds the file for most Mirrorball wins of all time on the show, taking the competitors six instances–with Brooke Burke (Season 7), Nicole Scherzinger (Season 10), Jennifer Gray (Season 11), Kellie Pickler (Season 16), Amber Riley (Season 17), and Bindi Irwin (Season 21). His file stays unbeaten, with the next-highest quantity of Mirrorball wins belonging to Mark Ballas and Val Chmerkovskiy, each with three.

Derek turns into head judge

Derek retired from the show as a professional dancer after Season 23, but made a big return for the show’s twenty ninth season in 2020, when he assumed his position at the judges’ desk for the first time.

Derek initially took over Len Goodman’s spot after the top judge was unable to journey to Los Angeles from England due to COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions, and continued to serve alongside Goodman, Carrie Anne Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli for the next two seasons.

Goodman retired from the show after Season 31 and later handed away from bone cancer in April 2023. Following his retirement and death, Derek was named as the show’s new head judge.

Derek and his spouse share poignant moments on the show after huge health scare

Hough met his spouse during the Move Live tour in 2014, and she joined the ABC show as a troupe dancer the next 12 months, a place she held for 6 seasons. The pair obtained engaged in 2022 and married in August 2023.

However, their marriage was shortly examined by that December, after Hayley suffered a near-fatal cranial hematoma, which required an emergency surgical procedure, before she underwent a second process for a cranium implant.

The couple shared a poignant dance on the show less than one 12 months later, which served as her emotional return. After saying their being pregnant, it was revealed that the dance also held another emotional objective, as the pair had also suffered a miscarriage around that time as nicely.

Despite all the heartache, the pair are now fortunately embracing parenthood, following the delivery of their daughter, Everley Capri, on December 29, 2025.