The ninth (and final) series of Dancing with the Stars premiered on 24 April 2022 on Three.
The series was hosted by Clint Randell and Sharyn Casey. Camilla Sacre-Dallerup was set to return to the judging panel as head judge, while James Luck and Lance Savali joined the judging panel for their first series. Sacre-Dallerup contracted Covid-19 and was replaced in the final programme by Karen Hardy.
The full cast was announced on 3 April. It was also announced that Eli Matthewson and Jonny Williams would make history by being the first same-sex partnership of the series.
In December 2019, it was that announced that a ninth series would air on Three in 2020. On 11 February 2020, it was announced that former contestant Laura Daniel would be replacing Rachel White on the judging panel for the ninth series. On 23 February 2020, The New Zealand Herald reported that Destiny Church Pastor and Vision NZ leader Hannah Tamaki was tipped to join the series. After major backlash online, MediaWorks confirmed that Tamaki would no longer be joining the series. In the same statement, they confirmed that the cast announcement for the ninth series was scheduled for the end of March 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, the series was postponed indefinitely. In March 2022 it was confirmed that the show would return later that year, for what would end up being its final series.
This table only counts for dances scored on a 30-point scale.
The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' 30-point scale are as follows:
Scores are based upon a potential 30-point maximum (team dances are excluded).
Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: James Luck, Camilla Sacre-Dallerup, Lance Savali.
Judge's vote to save
Judge's vote to save
Eric & Loryn withdrew from the competition after Eric tested positive for COVID-19, Vaz & Brittany were brought back in.<br> Rhys & Phoebe withdrew from the competition after they both tested positive for COVID-19, Kerre & Jared were brought back in.
Judge's vote to save
Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: James Luck, Karen Hardy, Lance Savali.<br> Camilla Sacre-Dallerup was absent after testing positive for COVID-19, Karen Hardy replaced her on the judges table.