EXCLUSIVE

Joey Graziadei wasn’t quite ready to leave the ballroom. After The Bachelor Season 28 star won the Season 33 Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy with pro Jenna Johnson he’s back as the first-ever host of the Dancing With the Stars Official Podcast. He’s taken on an entirely new role, not unlike going from The Bachelorette to the lead of The Bachelor. 

Instead of competing every week, Graziadei will be watching the performances closely and diving into what’s going on behind the scenes. Graziadei spoke with TV Insider about stepping into the hosting space, how he’s viewing the show in a completely new light, his secret injuries last season, and more.

How did you react to getting the call about staying in the Dancing With the Stars world with this podcast? 

Graziadei: I was so excited when that call came through. Obviously, I stayed in touch with the whole family in general, especially the executive producers, and they knew that I really was looking to, after my time on Dancing With the Stars, get more into the hosting space and try to find those opportunities, just in any space, be able to do some more hosting. When the Dancing With the Stars call came to do something on the podcast side, it just seemed like a great fit. I was honored that they thought of me, super excited, and eager to get started, build that skill, and have an opportunity to really be a part of this new season, which everyone’s so excited about. There were a lot of emotions. There was excitement, there was relief, there were a lot of things that came through, but I’m honestly most of all just grateful that I got the opportunity.

Since you’re covering the season for the podcast, are you in the ballroom every week? 

Graziadei: I’m going to be there almost every single Monday and Tuesday. That is the plan and what I want to be a part of. I guess the best way to describe it is I knew how it was on the show, where during the weeks, from Wednesday through Sunday, you’re kind of in your own little bubble, you’re in the studio, you’re working on your dance, but Monday is kind of when everyone comes together. That’s when they do the camera blocking. That’s when we start to get a feel for the ballroom and the dances that week. I really have made it a goal to try to be there on those blocking days, be able to catch up with everyone, and get a feel for what the dances are going to be like. And then the same thing for Tuesdays as well. I’m trying to be there the majority of the dance on Tuesday to get a feel for the sense of the ballroom when people are getting started. I think it’s just good to have a finger on that pulse before those dances come up, and then we’re shooting the podcast majority on Tuesdays after the show because we’re trying to get the reactions and what happens in real time. And then also it’s going to get to the point where we start talking to the eliminated couples, and we have to be there and available when that time comes.

You obviously have the perspective of someone who’s competed and won the show, but does watching and observing for the podcast make you look at the show differently now?

Graziadei: I definitely look at it with a different lens. After being on the show, it’s helpful to understand and relate to what the celebrities are going through, in terms of, for me, personally, how different it is. It’s funny. Sometimes I’m like, “Man, I wish I were just dancing.” It’s so exciting to see the energy in the ballroom and how excited all the celebrities are. And per usual, this is another one of those seasons that is a lot of great talent, but there’s a lot of great camaraderie. The different lens, for me, really is just an understanding of how difficult it is and trying to find a way to show how amazing the show is. In this podcast, we’re also touching on a lot of different things besides just the competition and what happens from week to week. We really want to start going and uncovering and talking about those things that people don’t see unless you have been on the show, or unless you go to a live show, whether that’s how the production crew works, how the stage managers work, everything from hair and makeup to costumes, there’s so many moving parts of this show that you have to be a pretty die hard fan to know about. And even the die-hard fans probably don’t get to see and uncover all those things. There’s a lot going into what we’re trying to do on the podcast. That’s probably one of my favorite things is just trying to shed light on how amazing these people are that really make up the show.

Danielle Fishel spoke about her injury in her video package. What did you do to stay injury-free last season?

Graziadei: I’ll be the first to admit I had plenty of injuries. It’s one of those things that, if it’s really bad, it gets talked about. I feel for Danielle, because I think there isn’t one person I know who has been on the show who hasn’t gotten some injury. It could be something really serious, like what happened with Danielle, and to have a small hamstring tear this early is obviously devastating, and I hope it just gets better for her. I remember after Week 3, I injured my heel during a backflip and had to dance my tango on a bruised heel. I think I had a small fracture in my heel, which could have been something that was nagging from before, but it just happened with the show. Most people don’t know is how many hours you put in consistently, and you’ve just got to keep dancing. It’s one of those things that you can be hurting, and everyone has a little nagging pain, or something serious like Danielle, but you want to be able to put as much time and energy into your dance as you can, to feel confident in what’s coming into it. For me, in terms of prevention, it took that Week 3 drive for me to have an injury. I was 29 years old the time, so I wanted to be invincible still, but I was like, “I need to still take care of my body.” They have a great PT team, and the people who have the ability to help on the show are unbelievable. You can go in to try to be able to have work done whenever something’s hurting, and just the stretching every single time before practice, and trying to make sure that you’re taking care of your body, you’re giving it rest, you’re icing, you’re elevating all those fun things from my heel to my shoulder to I think I had a little bit of a nagging knee pain at one point. I think the ones you see on the show are the ones that really get to the point that they have to adjust. It’s something that it’s obvious that there’s something that’s wrong, so they have to make a part of the story. People don’t know half the injuries that happen on the show, but it’s nice to highlight sometimes how hard it is. I give major props to Danielle for being able to push through and do as amazing as she did in the dance.

Eric McCandless / Disney

Was there anybody in these first two weeks who just took you by surprise?

Graziadei: I mean, how long do you have? I feel like this whole cast is unbelievable. Obviously, everyone has some type of dance background in a lot of ways. Out of this crew, there’s people that have danced back early on their life and have taken a long break. There’s people that have have zero dance experience whatsoever. I think I would say the two biggest surprises for me, and I shouldn’t say surprises because I think all the others are so talented, but one in particular was Lauren [Jauregui] in the first two dances. She’s a beautiful dancer, and I knew she was going to be a beautiful dancer, but I’m more amazed at how effortless she makes it look. I think, especially with the new style of the ballroom, how she’s moving across the dance floor and how elegant she’s been is so spectacular and something that I’m really amazed by in the first two dances because she’s done two dances where she’s had to be in frame, and she’s had to work with Brandon [Armstrong] to move across the floor. Obviously, everyone was blown away by Robert Irwin in Week 1, with the fact that him having no dance experience and looked as good as he did in his drive was unbelievable. That was such a dance that fit him, and props to Witney [Carson] for getting him ready in such a short period of time and for having him look the way he did. Dylan Efron is another where you can tell how much energy and effort he’s putting into it, and how he’s improved from Week 1 to Week 2 already is amazing. But if I’m being honest, I could go through each one of the cast and tell you how surprised I am by how strong they are. I just see the competition getting tougher.

You’re hosting this podcast, and you’ve said you want to continue to be in the hosting space. If somebody got sick or something, as we saw with Carrie Ann Inaba during premiere week, if they called you and asked you to guest cohost, would you do it? 

Graziadei: I mean, right now, I’m open to any opportunity that would come my way. Obviously, I’m hoping that the people who are there are in good health and stay in the position that they’re doing because they’re doing such an amazing job. The judges and the hosts, with Alfonso [Ribeiro], Julianne [Hough], Carrie Ann, Bruno [Tonioli], and Derek [Hough], they’re the heart of the show from week to week. I’ve actually really enjoyed, on my side, being able to learn from them and to talk to them and see how they operate being on this side now. I’m definitely taking notes. I’m definitely holding on to what I can so I can learn. I’m just impressed at what they do every day. I’m so grateful to be in this hosting position right now in the podcast space to build this skill. If an opportunity arises at some point down the line, I will always be open to it, especially if they think of me and they think I’m able and willing to do it. That would be an honor. But right now, I’m just in that process of trying to learn and take it in each day.

Tune in every Thursday to the Dancing with the Stars Official Podcast, available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu. 

Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC

For more Dancing With the Stars, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Dancing With the Stars: 20th Anniversary Special Collector’s Issue, on stands now or available at DWTS.TVGM2025.com.