“Dancing with The Stars” has placed its future in the hands of Andy Dick.
The aging ballroom competition — which routinely performs like Viagra for the careers of its B list celebrities — found itself in need of a boost of its own, heading into last night’s 16th season premiere.
Once TV’s most watched talent show, “Dancing” sunk in the ratings during it recent “All Star” season, losing almost 20 percent of its viewers.
Enter one of Hollywood’s most outrageous and unpredictable personalities — who admits he, too, could use an image makeover.
“My career was going brilliantly,” Dick explained in a prerecorded video package.
“I had my own show. But my drinking and drug use got out of control and I lost everything. It has been a bad couple of decades. I am currently sober and working hard at it. To everybody that I ever wronged, I apologize. Let me turn it around.”
With a rap sheet that includes public intoxication, exposing himself in a nightclub and urinating on a sidewalk, producers knew they were taking a huge gamble unleashing the comic on live television.
“I had to have a meeting with them,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I think they basically wanted was for me to show up not drunk.”
So far, so good.
Dick — complete in top hat and tails — earned mostly positive comments for his Foxtrot with freshman pro Sharna Burgess.
“There is something quite charming about you,” judge Carrie Ann Inaba told him. “You reminded me of watching the ugly duckling come to life. You touched me with that dance.”
Added the always outrageous Bruno Tonioli: “It was like watching Woody Allen do the Fox Trot. It had this kind of skittish charm. I like the slightly deranged side of it. I really enjoyed it in a very crazy way.”
The pair earned 17 out of 30 possible points from the judges, landing in second to last place — just above comedian D.L. Hughley.
“They call us the dark horse.” Dick told The Post yesterday. “We are not only not the dark horse. We are a translucent, opalescent horse with wings!”
16 year-old Disney star Zendaya Coleman and partner Val Chmerkovskiy stole the show, landing in first place after a stunning contemporary dance.
But Dick could likely move out of the danger zone when the public vote is factored in.
His bid for redemption and promise to stay sober appear to be sincere, which could endear him to voters at home as the season goes on — and help reinvent his public image further.
In the meantime, the mystery of what he might do or say next is likely to help boost ratings.