Wood is paired with pro dancer Rylee Arnold for season 35.

Connor Wood says Derek Hough has him worried he’ll get a 3 from the DWTS judges

Wood is paired with pro dancer Rylee Arnold for season 35.

By Leigh Blickley

September 4, 2026 3:06 p.m. ET

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Connor Wood for ‘Dancing with the Stars’. Credit:

Disney/Andrew Eccles

- Connor Wood doesn’t want to get a three from Derek Hough on *DWTS*.

- The comedian tells ** he feels pressure to deliver the moves this season.

- He is partnered up with Rylee Arnold, who’s heading into her fourth season as a pro.

Connor Wood is feeling the pressure ahead of his ballroom dancing debut on the season 35 premiere of *Dancing With the Stars*.

In an exclusive chat with ** following the cast announcement on Wednesday, the comedian, 30, and his pro partner Rylee Arnold share their feelings heading into the season.

“I’m feeling the pressure because I’m locked in,” Wood, also known as Fibula, tells EW. “I want to be really, really good. I want to show up. So, I feel great. The pressure’s good. Pressure makes diamonds.”

When asked if there’s a particular judge they’re nervous about performing for, Arnold says “all of them,” as Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough “have valid points, always.”

“Derek’s kind of scary,” she adds as Wood chimes in, “He brought up the number three, which I hadn’t even considered receiving a three at all. Like I said, we’re so locked right now and our routines are so dialed in that I would have to really do something insane to get a three.”

“Let’s not speak it into existence,” Arnold quips.

“I can’t stop thinking about it. While you’re talking, all I hear in my head is Derek going, ‘Three, three, three,’” Wood jokes.

Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold for ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Inaba confirms with EW that the judges have given out scores as low as a two.

“My lowest score was a four because I’m kind,” she says. “But I think Bruno and Len [Goodman] gave out twos to Master P a long time ago, but he didn’t do much. So, I mean, I hope [Wood] doesn’t get a three. I mean, it’s up to him though what he gets, right? So we’ll see what he does.”

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Pressed on whether she could go lower than a four on her score paddle this season, Inaba insists it “depends on what I see.”

“Looking at this cast, I don’t think I see people that could be three worthy, but then again, I haven’t seen any moves,” she tells EW. “I mean, Harry Shum [Jr.] got out there and did a little Michael Jackson-ish, but that’s all we saw. So we’ll see.”

Shum Jr. is paired with Jenna Johnson this season and showed off some of his dance skills on *Good Morning America* Wednesday. Other members of the all-star cast include Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan, Tatyana Ali, Tyler Cameron, Giada De Laurentiis, Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller, Taylor Hanson, Sarah Jane Nader, Guillermo Rodriguez, Jackson Olson, Ezra Frech, Amber Glenn, and Conner Leavitt.

As for Wood’s partnership with Arnold, he says she pushes him to be his best.

“The first day we hit flow state. It’s like we had been friends for a long time,” he says of the 21-year-old, entering her fourth season as a pro. “She’s very comfortable being like, ‘Get up. We’re doing it again. No, that’s wrong. Look at me. Look at me.’ And I definitely, I’ve tested her patience. There are weird things I’m unable to get right away, and we breathe through those times.”

“I feel like immediately we got so comfortable, and it’s just been so fun,” Arnold shares.

The *Dancing with the Stars* two-night premiere airs Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Dancing”