Barry Williams Hopes to ‘Carry the Torch’ for Brady Bunch Mom Florence Henderson on DWTS (Exclusive)

Barry Williams is following in his footsteps The Brady Bunch TV Mom Florence Henderson.

At the end of last month, Williams began his journey by competing further Dancing with the stars with partner Peta Murgatroyd. His arrival on ABC’s popular competition series comes 13 years after Henderson — who died in November 2016 at the age of 82 — competed on the show’s 11th season in 2010.

Debuting in Dancing with the stars ballroom, Williams, 69, and Murgatroyd, 37, even performed a foxtrot to “It’s a Sunshine Day” by The Brady Bunch.

Williams, who played Greg Brady on the beloved series, tells PEOPLE he “thought it was the perfect number” as he looks back on the second The Brady Bunch stars who appeared on the show before him.

‘Brady Bunch’ star Susan Olsen addresses romance chatter about Florence Henderson and Barry Williams

“The Brady Group and Dancing with the stars have former students. Florence Henderson was here in 2010, Maureen McCormick in 2016. Each one lasted a few weeks,” he recalls. So there’s a kind of family atmosphere, the difference is that no Brady has made it all the way through. So I’m hoping that I be that person.”

Barry Williams and Peta Murgatroyd in ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

ABC/Andrew Eccles

Williams also reveals that Henderson, who played his on-screen mother Carol Brady, previously suggested he try to get invited to Dancing with the stars.

“I’m trying to channel Florence Henderson, who encouraged me to accept the invitation to Dancing with the stars“, he says. “Because she was familiar with my theater experience, she thought I could be very good. And at that time she had just been eliminated and asked me if I would carry the torch.”

The Brady Group The cast has remained close in the years since it ended in 1974 after five seasons. That’s why Williams believes some of his former teammates will soon be in the ballroom to cheer him on as he competes for the recently renamed Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

The cast of ‘The Brady Bunch’. ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images ‘Brady Bunch’ cast: Where are they now?

– Everyone is invited, so we’ll see – he says. “I have Christopher Knight on my guest list for next week. He and I are doing a podcast called The real Brady Bros, which is an episodic recap. We each watch an episode and then dissect it in our podcast and the details, what we were thinking about, what our perspectives are now, etc. But it’s very Brady and he’s very supportive and it brings us in touch very regularly.”

Williams added, “Maureen has called me a few times, cheered me on, and hopefully she’ll come. I hope everyone will. Susan Olsen has already requested a date, but it’s not set yet. … I have a lot of support from Brady.”

In addition to Williams, Henderson, McCormick (Marcia Brady), Knight (Peter Brady) and Olsen (Cindy Brady), the series also starred Robert Reed (Mike Brady), Eve Plumb (Jan Brady), Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady) and Ann B Davis (Alice).

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Dancing with the stars airs Tuesdays at 8:00 PM ET on ABC and Disney+.

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Source: HIS Education