The last few weeks haven’t been too easy for Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, being fired from her first major acting job on “Melrose Place.” But Ash is bouncing back big time, preparing for her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.” She has a supporter in her predecessor, Samantha Harris of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Harris gushed to E! over Ashlee’s taking over the role. “Ashlee is adorable and talented. She can bring in a younger audience, plus has some international appeal.” Sounds good, but will Ash have better luck on the Great White Way than she did on network TV?

While it’s not yet official that “Gossip Girl” actor Chace Crawford will step into Kevin Bacon’s dancing shoes for the remake of “Footloose,” a certain TV actress already wants to be his partner. 

E! News reports “Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere has auditioned for the part of Ariel, and sources say she wowed the filmmakers with her singing. ”They were really impressed. No one realized what a good singer she is.”

The next step will likely be a dance audition with Crawford, but this casting is no done deal. “Dancing with the Stars” beauty/country songbird Julianne Hough is also interested, and she can dance rings around practically anyone else. 

Last fall, Julianne Hough stated she would not return for the next season of “Dancing with the Stars,” but the producers lured her back by offering her hunky honey Chuck Wicks a spot on the show. 

Now the two-time “DWTS” champ says she’s sitting out next season, and it looks like she means it this time. Chuck and Julianne were voted off the show this week, and both plan to get back to their careers in country music. Hough told Access Hollywood, “I’m not doing next season. I’m gonna take one off.

“We definitely went further than anticipated. I think he could have made it a little bit further, but you know what? It’s the name of the game and it’s about fan base and hopefully our country fans will follow us into music.”

Could this too-cute couple be the next Tim and Faith? They have the looks, even if they don’t yet have the hits!

The mostly- female fans of “Dancing with the Stars” had to be disappointed when Denise Richards was voted off so early in the current season. Not because of her—but because they won’t get to see her hunky partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy every week.

But despite his early elimination, the pro dancer has no plans to leave the show anytime soon. He told US Weekly, “We are under contract, but honestly, why not? In this economy, to have a job like this? Believe me, It’s not a bad job!”

Of course, there are drawbacks to the gig, like getting stuck with a celeb partner who has two left feet. Maksim has his own idea of his prefect match. “Some athlete that has nerves of steel and flexibility of a gymnast and determination — and obviously people like that don’t exist.”

This year’s contestant Shawn Johnson comes pretty close—so does past winner Kristi Yamaguchi. So maybe Max will get lucky next time!

We know that “Dancing with the Stars” is cursed, but the injuries have always started after the show got underway. This season doesn’t make its debut until Monday night but two stars have already been benched by injuries.

ABC reports that singer Jewel and TV host Nancy O’Dell have both dropped out of the competition due to injuries sustained while training for the show. Jewel has been diagnosed with a fractured tibia in both legs, while O’Dell suffered a torn meniscus. Jewel, whose rodeo champ husband Ty Murray is still on the show, stated:

“When the doctors told me my injuries were so severe that I couldn’t walk, let alone compete, I was devastated that I couldn’t continue the show. I have every intention of being at ‘Dancing with the Stars’ this season supporting my husband, Ty, and his partner, Chelsie (Hightower). I hope to be back on the show in the future.”

Jewel managed to break both legs while training for a TV show? Ty better keep her away from horses or anything else that she could fall from. Here’s what O’Dell said:

“Beyond disappointment doesn’t even being to describe how I feel about not being able to continue on ‘Dancing with the Stars. It has been one of my favorite shows since Season One! But I have torn the meniscus in my knee in two places, which requires surgery. ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was a great experience. I’ll miss working with my partner, Tony Dovolani, and all the other wonderful people on the amazing production that is ‘Dancing with the Stars’”

Substitutes have not been named but former “Girl Next Door” Holly Madison is rumored to be ready to step into her “Dancing” shoes. This year’s winner of “DWTS” won’t be the contestant who dances the best—it will be the one left standing at the end when all the others are in traction.

‘Dancing With The Stars’ champion Helio Castroneves has been indicted for ‘Conspiracy to Defraud the U.S. and Tax Evasion’ in Miami. Heilo, along with two others, are accused of stashing away Helio’s income in an offshore Panamanian shell corporation. Helio is facing some serious time here as the charges are punishable by a maximum of 5 years in federal prison. Before winning DWTS, Helio was best known as a race car driver driving for Team Penske.

I don’t quite understand America’s fascination with ‘Dancing With The Stars’ but I accept it. Having said that, if I did enjoy DWTS, my interest would have suddenly waned now that Kim Kardashian has been voted off the show. Kim and partner Mark Bellas were voted off before 82 year old Cloris Leachman and 19 year old Cody Linley! Check out these pictures from the DWTS set yesterday before yesterdays show. It does look like Kim is showing some concern. Could it be that she knew that she was about to get booted?

So, does this mean Lisa Marie will be in the stands watching her mama? Priscilla Presley is just one of the new celebs who will be participating in the new season of Dancing With The Stars. The other celebrity participants: figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, radio host Adam Carolla and actors Marlee Matlin, Shannon Elizabeth and Steve Guttenberg; tennis champion Monica Seles, magician Penn Jillette, R&B singer Mario and Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor. Hmm, I’d actually like to see Adam Carolla dance. I thought Howard Stern was going to be included in the cast, but I somehow read the wrong press release or something. Oh, well – maybe next season.

I’m not the type to say I told you so, or to even brag about my great psychic abilities, but I’ll do it this one time. As predicted by yours truly yesterday, Helio Castroneves (and Indy 500 star) won the Dancing With The Stars title. Wow! Helio and all his glory will probably be joining the DWTS tour soon, if he’s not busy driving and all that. He’ll also probably get a fat cell phone company endorsement from his namesake (this is not actually confirmed, but it would be nice wouldn’t it?). As for the losers, er, the runner-ups – we believe that Marie Osmond and Mel B. will be just fine. Marie’s career got reignited with her appearance on DWTS and Mel B. is getting ready to tour with her Spice Girls buddies. Yep, they’ll be fine. So, congrats to our man Helio. And on a side note ladies, Helio just broke off his engagement with his fiancee. We’re sorry to hear that, but hopefully the DWTS trophy can keep him warm at night.

It’s down to three (probably very exhausted) celebrities competing for the crown in the popular ABC series Dancing With The Stars. Spice Girls alum Mel B, Marie Osmond and Helio Castroneves are the remaining “contestants” in what has become a suspense-filled season. News of Marie Osmond fainting in one of the episodes was talked about in many a water cooler across the U.S., and she’s become the favorite to win the competition. Scary Spice is quite the contender, too, so let’s not count her out. Actually, why don’t they just give it to Helio? He seems like a nice man, can drive really fast and will probably enjoy being in the company of Emmett Smith and Drew Lachey. Plus, his name’s Helio – that already sounds like a winner. Just a thought. The finale is tonight if you’re in the mood for dancing stars, so check your local listings.