Derek Houghhit the brakes after hearing Olivia Culpo’s hit single “Driver’s License” for the first time, joking it brought back memories of the difficult ride for his license.
The choreographer andDancing with the Starsjudge, 35, shared the funny story on the latest episode of thePEOPLE Every Daypodcast, explaining why the teenage milestone was especially difficult to achieve for him in the U.K.
Houghleft home at 13to attend the prestigious London dance school Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts with his sisterJulianne, and the ballroom dance prodigies spent many of their formative years in England. During that time, theHigh School Musical: The Musical: The Seriesstar told host Janine Rubenstein it took him no less than four tries to pass his driver’s license test.
While recently working on season 2 of the hit Disney+ show, Hough joked it was painful to hear costar Rodrigo’spopular songbecause the milestone took so long for him to achieve.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.Fred Hayes/Disney
“Honestly, it traumatized me,” he joked. “Getting my driver’s license was such a traumatic experience that [when] she’s like, ‘Got my driver’s license.’ I’m like, ‘Aah!’ It took me four times, four times pass my test because in England you can’t drive automatic. It has to be stick shift … It was all ‘gotcha’ moments!”
Hough speculated that because public transit in the U.K. is so sophisticated, authorities intentionally make it tricky to pass the driving test.
“They make it really, really, really hard for you to pass your test because they just don’t want you driving,” he said. “It just brought up some of those old memories, and I was like, ‘Olivia, why? Why?'”
Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.And click below to hear more from Hough.
In the latest season ofHigh School Musical: The Musical: The Series, the professional dancer plays Zack, the new theater teacher at East High’s rival school. Getting into character brought back another rush of memories for Hough, who described himself as a loner at his London high school.
Hough said the experience was atypical to a traditional American school, as everyone wore uniforms and he spent his nights at dance practice and weekends at competitions.
“I’ve never been to a prom,” Hough admitted, but alluded that there may have been a few stolen kisses at the lockers when no one was watching.
Season 2 of theHigh School Musicalspinoff premieres Friday onDisney+.
Check out more from Hough’s interview on PEOPLE Every Day, airing now oniHeartMedia,Apple podcasts,Spotify,Stitcher,Amazon Musicor wherever you listen to your podcasts.
source: people.com
