( PEOPLE.com ) -- Last Tuesday , Danny Cahill became the biggest 'Biggest Loser ' ever when he dropped 239 lbs . in seven months to win the eighth season title . Now , as NBC goes back to a couples edition of the series , the contestants and the challenges they face get bigger as well . On January 5 , `` The Biggest Loser : Couples '' premieres with 11 teams of two competing for the Season 9 crown . Among the players are Michael Ventrella , a 30-year-old deejay from Chicago , Illinois -- who at 526 lbs . becomes the heaviest contestant ever on the series -- and his is mother , Maria , a 51-year-old corporate travel agent . `` I would do anything for Michael , '' his mom Maria , who starts at 281 lbs. , told PEOPLE . `` At first I did n't think I could do it because I have too many responsibilities at home . I have a husband who is disabled , my mom in a wheelchair , a full-time job , home cleaning -- it 's a lot . But then he needed it so bad and so I am here , and I need it for myself , too ! '' The Ventrellas are one of eight parent-child duos on the show this season . Attorney Melissa Morgan , 39 , and her husband Lance , 38 , a rancher , hail from Aspermont , Texas , and are both interested in losing weight and saving their marriage . California-based cousins Sam Poueu , 24 , and Koli Palu , 29 , were inspired by the success of Tongan cousins Sione and Filipe in season seven and hope to do the same for the people and culture of American Samoa . Orlando , Florida , identical twins James and John Crutchfield , 30 , weighed in at a combined 969 lbs . `` I 'm glad I 'm here , '' James said , `` because my only other alternative is surgery . '' Here are the other teams vying for a $ 250,000 winner prize or $ 100,000 at-home prize : . Mom Patti Anderson , 55 , a business owner , and daughter Stephanie Anderson , 29 , a radio sales executive , from Lafayette and West Hollywood , California . Mom Cherita Andrews a 50-year-old homemaker and daughter Vicky Andrews , a 22-year-old student from Houston , Texas . Mom Miggy Cancel , 48 , a Pemberton , New Jersey chef and daughter Migdalia Sebren , 28 , a homemaker from Sanford , North Carolina . Mom Cheryl George a 50-year-old store-owner and son , Daris George , 25 , a salesman , from Ardmore , Oklahoma . Father O'Neal Hampton , Jr. , a U.S . Postal Service station manager , 51 , and daughter SunShine Hampton , 24 , a restaurant server , from Minneapolis , Minnesota . Father Darrell Hough , a press operator and mechanic , 46 , and daughter Andrea Hough , a 24-year-old executive assistant from Ann Arbor , Michigan . Mom Sherry Johnston , a 51-year-old non-profit administrator and daughter Ashley Johnston , a 27-year-old manager and esthetician from Knoxville , Tennessee . Also , season seven 's Tara Costa will return to PEOPLE.com to blog for season nine ! © 2010 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
The ninth season of `` The Biggest Loser '' features its heaviest competitors yet . In the new season, contestants will be competing for a $1 million prize and bragging rights in their weight loss journey. The first episode of the new series premieres January 11 .