‘DWTS’ Judge Derek Hough Terrifies Bruno Tonioli As He Creeps Up Behind Him In ‘Hi, Hi, Good Morning’ Spoof

Dancing with the Stars judge Derek Hough scared the heck out of his co-star Bruno Tonioli during a spoof of a viral video that starred a toddler.

In a hilarious new teaser shared on the show’s official Instagram page, the six-time mirrorball champ pranked the veteran judge by creeping up behind him to wish him a happy day.

In the funny clip, Derek peeked out of his trailer outside of the DWTS studios to say “hi” to his fans. The next shot showed him jumping up behind a mask-wearing Bruno, who nearly jumped out of his chair in terror as his co-star said “hi!”

In the final shot, Derek sprung up from the judges’ table to say “good morning” as he waved his arms up in the air and beamed widely.

The audio for the clip came from the viral video of a toddler saying hello to imaginary people on the street during the lockdown in the U.K. earlier this year, which can be seen on YouTube here.

In his caption, Derek wished fans a happy show day hours before Dancing with the Stars was set to air live on ABC.

In the comments section, DWTS fans reacted to Derek’s hilarious hello. Some noted that the Emmy-winning choreographer has brought new life to the ABC dance-off.

“Always did love how you make an entrance,” one fan wrote to Derek.

“Derek is literally the only thing getting me through 2020,” another added.

“He is just so hysterical. I so look forward to his posts & TikToks!” a third admirer chimed in.

Other commenters zeroed in on how he sneaked up on his co-star.

“Ok but can we see the Bruno scare portion of this video in full??? “a fourth person asked.

Another commenter noted that the Italian choreographer could use a shock once in a while.

Derek is clearly a prankster, and he has brought new energy to Dancing with the Stars after leaving the show for four years to sit alongside Jennifer Lopez and Ne-Yo on NBC’s World of Dance. Not only has Derek signed as a judge for the ABC celebrity ballroom competition that kicked off his TV career more than a decade ago, but he will soon perform a dance with his longtime girlfriend and DWTS troupe member, Hayley Erbert.

It’s no surprise that the 35-year-old dancer is also known for his TikTok obsession and his hilarious dance segments on the video-sharing platform.