Playboy babe may join 'Dancing with the Stars'

Zap2It.com | March 4, 2009

Holly Madison

Ex-'Girl Next Door' Holly Madison may take injured Jewel's place

The new season of "Dancing with the Stars" doesn't start for another few days, but rumors are circulating that one celebrity hoofer may already be out -- and a former "Girl Next Door" may be taking her place.

Us magazine reports that Holly Madison, the Playboy Playmate, ex-girlfriend of Hugh Hefner and star of E!'s "The Girls Next Door," is set to join the ABC dance competition, which begins a new season on Monday (March 9). The network isn't commenting.

Madison would most likely take the place of singer-songwriter Jewel, who wrote on her blog last week that she's been slowed by tendonitis in her knees -- a result of rehearsing for the show with partner Dmitry Chaplin. Jewel's husband, rodeo cowboy Ty Murray, is also a contestant this season.

Along with fellow Hef girlfriends Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson, the 30-year-old Madison starred in "The Girls Next Door" from 2005 until last month. The three women have all moved out of the Playboy Mansion and gone their separate ways; Hef has reloaded with a new set of girlfriends and will keep filming the show.

A number of "Dancing with the Stars" participants -- both celebs and their pro partners -- have been injured during the show's run. Most have been minor (sprained ankles are pretty common), although Olympian Misty May-Treanor had to withdraw last year after tearing her Achilles tendon last fall.