"I've been a fan of the show for a long time," she says. "Years ago, maybe second season or third season, I think there was a call to my agent and I was in the middle of one of those (skate) tours and it just wasn't possible."
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After talking it over with her husband and a friend, she decided to go for it, only to again end up feeling like the mother of the crew when she met her fellow "Dancing" contestants on Tuesday.
"It was just shocking to me to realize that I am the oldest one there – and not just by six months!" Hamill says of meeting celebrities such as Zendaya Coleman, a 16-year-old Disney Channel star and 18-year-old Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman.
She's never danced ballroom before and says that despite some similarities between figure skating and dancing she's worried about how different it will be.
"The technique is so different," Hamill says. "So that's going to be a challenge for me. While it looks easy I've never been very good on my feet. I've always been kind of klutzy."
"I don't know how any of (her skating skills) will translate to the being on the dance floor in high heels," Hamill says. "I can barely walk in high heels, so it's going to be amusing."