Why Is Bailey McKnight on DWTS: The Next Pro? Is She Joining Season 35?

Bailey McKnight finally made it onto a Dancing with the Stars dance floor in The Next Pro Episode 6, but not in the way longtime followers might have expected. Bailey was not secretly added to the competition and she has not been confirmed as a Dancing with the Stars Season 35 celebrity. She appeared as the amateur partner assigned to AJ Pritchard for the episode’s coaching challenge, which asked the remaining pro hopefuls to teach DWTS superfans in just two days. Still, Bailey’s appearance is particularly interesting because she and twin sister Brooklyn McKnight have openly tried to get cast on regular DWTS several times and specifically planned to pursue Season 35.

Why was Bailey McKnight on DWTS: The Next Pro?

Bailey was brought onto The Next Pro as one of the guest dance partners used to test whether the remaining contestants could actually teach. Episode 6, titled “But Can You Teach? Coaching Superfans with Witney Carson,” changed the usual dynamic of the competition. Instead of primarily dancing with experienced performers, the five remaining hopefuls had to coach fans and content creators through ballroom routines with only two days of preparation.

AJ Pritchard was paired with Bailey for a Viennese waltz. That meant Bailey’s job in the episode was effectively to play the role that a celebrity contestant would occupy on regular Dancing with the Stars. AJ had to teach her, choreograph around her abilities and make the partnership work well enough for television.

The pairing worked particularly well for AJ. Witney Carson described their routine positively while wanting more emotional storytelling, Mark Ballas praised AJ’s command of the craft and noted how comfortable Bailey appeared with him, and Shirley Ballas was especially impressed by what AJ had managed to teach her in two days. The challenge was evaluating AJ, however, not Bailey as a prospective Season 35 contestant.

Related: Why Was Nina Mayster Eliminated From DWTS: The Next Pro?

Is Bailey competing on The Next Pro?

No. Bailey McKnight is not one of the contestants trying to win Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.

That distinction can be confusing because Bailey received a real dance partner, rehearsed a ballroom routine and performed in front of the show’s judges. Visually, it looked much closer to regular DWTS than a simple guest appearance. But AJ was the person being evaluated. Bailey was part of the test designed to show whether he could take someone without professional ballroom experience and prepare her under an extremely short deadline.

The actual competition is for a professional dancer position on Season 35. After Episode 6, AJ advanced alongside Adele Zaikman, Allen Genkin and Selena Hamilton, while Nina Mayster was eliminated. Bailey does not advance or get eliminated because she was never competing for that professional job.

Why does Bailey’s appearance matter more than the other guest partners?

Bailey has been publicly trying to get onto Dancing with the Stars for years, which gives this guest appearance a history that most viewers would never know from watching Episode 6 alone.

In October 2025, Bailey revealed that she and Brooklyn had applied for DWTS at least three times. According to Bailey, producers had previously been reluctant to cast the sisters together because putting twins in the same season could divide their audience vote. Bailey and Brooklyn even suggested an “iconic duos” concept and eventually told the show that it could simply choose one of them.

Bailey described appearing on DWTS as a longtime ambition. She and Brooklyn attended the Season 34 Wicked Night taping, and Bailey said they intended to put themselves forward again for Season 35. The sisters also have some dance background from their high school drill team, although Bailey herself acknowledged that drill team experience is very different from technical ballroom dancing.

That history changes how her Next Pro appearance looks. For another influencer, dancing with AJ might be an entertaining one-episode opportunity. For Bailey, it is the closest she has publicly come to actually experiencing the DWTS contestant role.

Is Bailey McKnight joining Dancing with the Stars Season 35?

There is currently no confirmation that Bailey McKnight is part of the Season 35 celebrity cast.

As of August 18, the officially announced celebrities include Ciara Miller, Maura Higgins, Jackson Olson and Guillermo Rodriguez. Guillermo has also been confirmed as Witney Carson’s partner. The remaining celebrity contestants and professional dancers are scheduled to be officially unveiled on Good Morning America on September 2.

Bailey’s name has appeared in Season 35 speculation because she openly campaigned for the show well before The Next Pro aired. Parade, for example, included Brooklyn and Bailey among personalities who had expressed interest in competing. That is very different from a casting confirmation.

Her Episode 6 appearance should therefore not be treated as proof that ABC has secretly signed her. There has been no official announcement linking Bailey to one of the remaining Season 35 celebrity positions.

Was The Next Pro appearance secretly an audition for Bailey?

There is no evidence that ABC intended Bailey’s appearance as a formal Season 35 audition.

It is easy to see why viewers might make that connection. Bailey wants the DWTS job, producers know she wants it, and she was suddenly given an opportunity to learn and perform ballroom choreography from someone auditioning to become a real DWTS professional. That certainly gives the production team another chance to see how Bailey functions in the ballroom environment.

But anything beyond that is interpretation.

The stated purpose of Episode 6 was to evaluate the prospective pros as teachers. Bailey and the other guest partners were there to create the kind of challenge the eventual winner will face when paired with a celebrity on the flagship show. There has been no official statement saying Bailey’s own performance was being judged for Season 35 casting.

That distinction is important because “Bailey appeared on DWTS” and “Bailey auditioned for Season 35” are two very different claims. The first is now true. The second remains unconfirmed.

Related: Is DWTS: The Next Pro Live or Pre-Recorded? How the Competition Works

Could Bailey still end up on Season 35?

Yes, it remains possible because the full celebrity cast has not yet been revealed, but there is not enough evidence to call her a likely contestant.

Bailey has clearly made her interest known to producers. She has applied repeatedly, has attended the live show, has connections to past contestants and DWTS professionals, and now has an appearance within the franchise. Those details make her a reasonable name for fans to discuss while several Season 35 places remain unannounced.

The complication is that Bailey’s past applications also prove that wanting the role does not guarantee getting it. She and Brooklyn have already been turned down multiple times. Her Next Pro appearance could represent a growing relationship with the franchise, or it could simply be a fun way to involve a recognizable DWTS superfan in a challenge that required amateur partners.

Until ABC reveals the remaining cast, anything stronger would be speculation.

For now, Bailey McKnight’s DWTS story has reached an unusual halfway point. She finally got the rehearsals, the professional partner, the costume and the ballroom performance she has publicly wanted, but she did it as part of AJ Pritchard’s audition rather than as a celebrity competing for the Mirrorball. Episode 6 does not confirm that Bailey is joining Season 35. What it does do is make the possibility considerably more interesting to watch when the rest of the cast is revealed.