Maura Higgins, Mark Ballas 'cooking up something' ahead of 'DWTS' season 35 release

Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas are looking forward to bringing their Traitors co-star Rob Rausch to compete on Dancing with the Stars.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Higgins and Ballas opened up about their desire for their Traitors season four co-star to team up with them on the dance show.

Calling to mind her time with Rausch on The Traitors, Higgins revealed they never a cast vote for each other when they were on the reality competition series, but she “would have” if he wanted her to.

Participating in the conversation, Ballas revealed, “He’s coming [to watch] week one.”

The 40-year-old American dancer and choreographer was asked if he could make a cameo with them on the dance floor with Higgins and Rausch; he replied, “I’m like, ‘You owe us, bro. You’re going to be in this dance.’”

“We’re cooking up something. We’re trying to make something work,” the 35-year-old Irish TV personality and host teased.

Referring to their time on The Traitors last year, Ballas shared, “When we were in the castle, she told me, ‘I love to do Dancing With the Stars.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, mate. You can’t make it through a 45-minute challenge. How are you going to make it through a five to 10 hour rehearsal?’”

“And her answer, I was like, ‘Fair enough.’ She was like, ‘I don’t want to carry rocks in a backpack up a mountain throwing gold pebbles at stuff…But I want to learn how to dance,’” the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone star recalled.

“I want to dress up and do a dance in the ballroom, of course! Who doesn’t want to do that?” Maura Higgins exclaimed.

It is pertinent to mention that Dancing with the Stars season 35 will start premiering with a two-night event on Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, 2026, on Disney+ and ABC.