‘DWTS’ pro Witney Carson returns for Season 33 — while BFF Lindsay Arnold stays out

Witney Carson is putting on her dancing shoes.

The former Mirrorball champion revealed she’s returning to the ballroom for Season 33 of “Dancing With the Stars,” which premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17.

After a two-year hiatus from the series, Carson, 33, surprised her Instagram followers with the news she’s ready to feel the warmth with a celebrity partner once again.

“I’m back on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ and I can’t wait to get back on that dance floor,” the professional dancer said in her video on Thursday. “Just wait till you meet my partner. You guys are going to die.”

Carson first competed on the long-running series in Season 18 with singer Cody Simpson as his celebrity partner.

In Season 19, the reality star was paired with “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” actor Alfonso Ribeiro — who now co-hosts with Julianne Hough.

The pair went on to win the competition.

In 2022, for season 31, Carson competed again and finished in third place with Wayne Brady.

At the time, Carson was pregnant with her and her husband Carson McAllister’s second child, a boy named Jett.

Carson and McAllister also have a son, Leo, 3, who was born in January 2021 — and he was the reason they gave their dancing shoes a rest during Season 29.

Meanwhile, the mother’s close friend Lindsay Arnold will not be returning to the show.

“As many of you know, I was on “Dancing With the Stars” for almost 10 years,” the 33-year-old said in a TikTok video on Tuesday. “I stepped away from the show two seasons ago, and when I stepped away, I wasn’t like, ‘I’m done forever.’ It was like, ‘This is what works for my life and we’re just going to take it one season at a time.’”

Arnold admitted she understands fans’ curiosity about whether she’ll ever return to the show, especially since her sister, Riley Arnold Making her debut on ‘DWTS’ During Season 32.

“That question — ‘Are you going back to ‘Dancing With the Stars’?’ — is a lot more complicated for me than just deciding if I want to do it or not,” she continued. “I think some of you know this, but some of you don’t, that when it comes to the pros on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ you’re never guaranteed to be on the show. Never.”

The influencer pointed out that she isn’t the only one who doesn’t have a guarantee.

Arnold told viewers that “every single season” that she competed, they “had to wait” to hear if she would return to the ballroom.

“Even though I was under contract, the contract doesn’t guarantee you work every season,” she said. “But when you’re under contract you have to be available to do this and you can’t do other shows.”

While professional athletes who have been on the show for a number of years may feel “more confident” about their return, Arnold said their future is also unknown.

“There have been a few times on the show where a long-serving professional hasn’t been selected… so you never know,” he said.

Arnold currently lives in Utah with her husband and two daughters, and if she wanted to join Season 33, she would have had to have a conversation with producers first.

“It’s not as simple as just saying, ‘I want to be on the show!’ It’s not like I can start preparing to go there… because everything happens very last minute,” she said.

“There haven’t really been any conversations,” Arnold told fans. “It’s not really something that’s possible for me at this time in my life.”