After four months of absence and the fatal accident in July, Paolo Belli returns to Dancing with the Stars on November 21st. Here’s what he’ll do on the track.
For almost twenty years he was one of the souls of Dancing with the stars. Then, suddenly, silence. No cameras, no jokes with Milly Carlucci, no performances. Now Paolo Belli is ready to return to the Rai 1 studiofour months after the bicycle accident in which Alessandro Magnani, 41, lost his life. His return is expected on Saturday 21 November, but this time the musician will be neither the host nor a competitor: he will take on the role of the dancer for a night.
A return with a particular meaning, which comes after a period of distance from television and a personal choice that Belli himself had explained publicly only a few days ago.
Paolo Belli returns to Dancing with the Stars: what will happen on November 21st
According to the previews published by 361 Magazine, Paolo Belli will be the protagonist of the episode on Saturday 21 November as a dancer for one night. A choral performance involving the masters of the program would be planned for him, although the details of the performance have not yet been officially confirmed.
The occasion will mark the return to what for years was his second television home. Belli accompanied the story of Dancing with the stars since the first editions, becoming one of the most familiar faces on Milly Carlucci’s show. From conducting the orchestra to hosting the Hall of Stars, up to the experience as a contestant in 2025 together with Anastasia Kuzmina, the musician has gone through practically every possible role within the broadcast.
This time, however, the emotion will inevitably be different.
The July accident and the four months away from television
On 13 July 2026, during a cycling trip in Lower Reggiana, Paolo Belli was involved in an accident in which Alessandro Magnani, 41, lost his life. A tragedy whose dynamics have been investigated by investigators.
After the incident, the musician decided to suspend his professional commitments and public appearances. A choice that also affected Dancing with the starswhere his absence could not go unnoticed.
Rai and the artist had agreed not to expect his presence in front of the cameras at the start of the new season. The professional connection with the program, however, had not been definitively severed.
Simone Di Pasquale took his place in the Sala delle Stelle, while Milly Carlucci, during the first episode, wanted to give him a public greeting. A gesture of closeness without turning the moment into a spectacle.
Paolo Belli’s first words: «I will smile again, but without forgetting»
On November 3, after almost four months of silence, Paolo Belli spoke again through a video published on social media.
He explained that he stopped out of respect for what happened and that he felt the need to move away from the public scene. Then he announced his desire to start working again, also for the people who share his artistic path.
But above all it was one sentence that conveyed his state of mind: «I will do it with a different mood, without forgetting anything, even when you see me smile».
Words that reflect the weight of these months and the difficulty of resuming a profession built around music, entertainment and the direct relationship with the public.
Milly Carlucci and the return to the Dancing family
The invitation as a dancer for one night also represents a way to reunite Paolo Belli with the show without immediately entrusting him with a permanent role.
Milly Carlucci, who shared a long television career with him, had kept the possibility of a return open. November 21st could be the moment chosen to make it happen.
It is not yet clear how his participation will be presented nor what the choreography will be. What emerges from the previews is the desire to involve broadcasting professionals in a collective moment, rather than constructing a traditional exhibition.
For Belli it will also be an opportunity to meet the public again before the resumption of live musical shows, already announced for December.
However, the awareness remains that the return to normality does not erase what happened. The death of Alessandro Magnani remains a tragedy that deserves respect, regardless of the musician’s professional path. And perhaps it is precisely in the words chosen by Belli to announce his restart that the most authentic meaning of this return is found: smile again, without forgetting.
