‘DWTS’ Season 27: Gymnast Mary Lou Retton, blind skier in new cast

  It’s time for another round of “Dancing With the Stars.” But this fall, the ballroom pros might have more star wattage than many of the celebrities on ABC’s reality series.

For Season 27, “Harry Potter” star Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), “Dukes of Hazzard” lead John Schneider and “Facts of Life” actress Nancy McKeon are taking the stage to compete for the mirrorball trophy, along with a mix of other actors, athletes – including Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton and blind skier Danelle Umstead – a comic, a model, a reality star, a radio host and a recording artist.

Last spring’s shortened all-athletes version of the ABC reality series, “was obviously all about high competition,” says executive producer Andrew Llinares. But the show returns to its regular, full-season glory Sept. 24  (Mondays, 8 EDT/PDT), where “we’ll have a whole variety of people and there might be a little bit more of a fun (mood). You’ll see more of a journey, more of a progression in people.”

One of them, Irish actress Lynch, says she’s excited to return to dance about a decade after being rejected by a dance college, and also to “have something more to talk about besides her four “Potter” films.

“I want to introduce other things (and) try to challenge myself to be outgoing.” 

Lynch learned Irish dancing and ballet as a child, then studied other forms of dance for fun while on set in London, where she was obsessed with Michael Jackson. She is looking forward to her most high-profile project since the “Potter” films, because “the thing that I love, that lights me up, is performing.”

The full list of contestants who will soon be performing the waltz, jive, salsa, cha-cha, foxtrot and more on “DWTS.”

Evanna Lynch, 27

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