Ex-convict Anna Delvey joins massive TV show after wild Netflix success-Robert Oliver and Rishma Dosani-Entertainment – Metro

Anna Delvey will compete in the upcoming 33rd season of Dancing With the Stars (Picture: Getty)

The Dancing With the Stars line-up for season 33 has been announced – with ex-convict Anna Delvey added to the star-studded list.

TV bosses unveiled their cast for the upcoming series on Good Morning America earlier today, after months of teasing, with some huge names competing for the coveted Len Goodman mirrorball trophy.

Tori Spelling, Die Hard star Reginal VelJohnson and the Bachelorette’s Jenn Tran will be hitting the dancefloor alongside Julia Roberts’ brother, Eric Roberts.

However, the most eyebrow-raising casting is definitely Delvey, who was previously jailed in 2019 after deceiving people out of huge amounts of money – apparently totaling $250,000 (£190k) – while pretending to be a German heiress.

The 33-year-old’s crimes were dramatized in the Netflix series Inventing Anna, which starred the likes of Ozark’s Julia Garner and Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox.

Shortly after the terms of her house arrest – which she began in 2022 – was , the ‘Fake Heiress’ is gearing up to appear on one of the biggest shows on American TV.

It was reported that she is able to access social media and fly from her home in New York to Los Angeles, where the show is filmed.

She has been paired up with Eric Sosa ahead of the season 33 premiere, which will be gracing our screens on September 17.

Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Traitors icon Phaedra Parks has rounded out the cast list beside The Bachelor’s Joey Grazadei, NBA legend Dwight Howard and NFL star Danny Amendola.

Model Brooks Nader will also be showing off her moves beside Olympians Ilona Maher and Stephen Nedoroscik and Pretty Little Liars: Summer School star Chandler Kinney.

Delvey served two years behind bars for her crimes (Picture: Getty)

Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro will once again be co-hosting the proceedings, while Strictly Come Dancing’s Bruno Tonioli, Derek Hough and Carrie Ann Inaba are returning to the judges’ panel.

The news of Delvey’s prior conviction shocked fans of the series when she was previously linked to the cast, with dozens of them flocking to social media – either to condemn or even support the decision.

On X, TheIconicAshley asked: ‘Why are we giving a platform for people like her?’, but @ILoveGraciee hit back with ‘She did what she had to do, served her time, and I bet those rich people barely noticed.’

Heaven_Toniight supported the decision: ‘I love Dancing With the Stars’ commitment of giving us one felon a season – I think its fun.’

Delvey seems to have had her house arrest conditions relaxed (Picture: Dominik Bindl/Getty)

There was no dissent from TayluhSwiff13 either, who said: ‘She’s literally the most iconic woman in business ever – she scammed the entire industry, started her own fashion line, and now [going on] reality TV while still being under arrest.’

Freyan suggested that Gypsy Rose Blanchard, whose life story was told in the TV series The Act, should be involved instead: ‘Having Anna Delvey on instead of Gypsy Rose is wild.’

Born in the Soviet Union just months before its collapse in 1991, Delvey was born Anna Sorokin and moved from Russia to Germany when she was 16.

She moved around Europe before relocating to New York in 2013, where she began working for culture publications and magazines and establishing connections in the city’s art and fashion worlds.

Dancing With the Stars returns in two weeks (Picture: ABC via Getty Images)

Then, using fake documents and fraudulent checks, she managed to trick her connections – which included banks, friends, and realtors – into giving her loans and cash money.

After being caught by police, she was convicted of grand larceny and sentenced to between four and 12 years behind bars – she was released after two years but has remained under strict house arrest ever since.

Her predicted appearance on Dancing With the Stars wouldn’t make her the first person to go on the show after spending time in prison, however.

Rapper Lil Kim competed in 2009 after spending a year in prison in 2005, while comedian Tommy Chong went on the show in 2014 a decade after a year-long stint in a California facility.

This article was first published on September 1.

Dancing With the Stars returns on September 17.

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