NEED TO KNOW
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Tom Bergeron is making his return to Dancing with the Stars for the show’s 20th anniversary celebration on Nov. 11
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The television personality hosted the show from its premiere in 2005 to 2019
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Bergeron was let go from the show amid differing views on the show’s direction
Tom Bergeron was the longtime host of Dancing with the Stars before he left in 2020.
The television personality hosted the hit dancing competition show for 28 seasons, dating back to when it premiered in 2005. However, after 15 years, he announced that he had been let go from the show amid differing opinions on casting decisions and the show’s direction.
“In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” Bergeron said on the late Bob Saget’s podcast in 2021. “So at the end of the season that turned out to be my last season, I kind of knew. I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted. … It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads [behind-the-scenes]. It wasn’t a pleasant [experience].”
Although Bergeron expressed his candid feelings about Dancing with the Stars in 2021, he decided to return to the show as a guest judge on the Nov. 11 episode, celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Amid his return to the dance floor, here’s everything to know about why Tom Bergeron was let go from Dancing with the Stars.
How long was Tom Bergeron on Dancing with the Stars?
Carrie Ann Inaba, Tom Bergeron, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in 2019.
At the same time that Bergeron was hosting America’s Funniest Home Videos, he started co-hosting Dancing with the Stars when it premiered in 2005. He continued co-hosting the hit show for 28 seasons over 15 years before his exit in 2020.
While Bergeron remained a staple on the show for years, he rotated through various co-hosts. He worked with Lisa Canning for the first season before Samantha Harris replaced her for seasons 2 through 9.
After Brooke Burke won season 7 of Dancing with the Stars, she became the next co-host for seven seasons starting in season 10. Bergeron’s final co-host was Erin Andrews, who worked alongside him from season 18 until they both left in 2020.
For his work as a co-host, he received nine Emmy Award nominations and took home the award once in 2012.
Why was Bergeron let go from Dancing with the Stars?
Eric McCandless via Getty
Tom Bergeron hosting ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in November 2019.
Ahead of season 29 of Dancing with the Stars, ABC announced that both Bergeron and Andrews would be leaving the show.
“Tom Bergeron will forever be part of the Dancing with the Stars family,” ABC and BBC Studios said in a statement in July 2020. “As we embark on a new creative direction, he departs the show with our sincerest thanks and gratitude for his trademark wit and charm that helped make this show a success.”
The companies continued, “Erin will also not be returning, and we appreciate all that she brought to the ballroom. Fans have been rooting for her since she originally competed as a contestant back in 2010, and her signature sense of humor has become a hallmark of the show.”
Shortly after news broke of the firings, Bergeron shared his thoughts on X and wrote in a since-deleted message, “Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me. It’s been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career. I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made.”
Later that year, then-executive producer Andrew Llinares further explained that Bergeron had been let go as the series “evolves.”
“Any show like this that has been on for many, many seasons needs to continue to evolve,” he said in October 2020, per Entertainment Tonight. “So I think changing that host is all about evolution.”
He added, “It was all about making the show feel fresh, making it feel new and make it reach out to a new audience — as well as the audience that’s been there for years.”
What has Bergeron said about his firing since departing the show?
Kevin Winter/Getty
Tom Bergeron attends MPTF ‘Lights, Camera, Take Action!’ in December 2024 in Los Angeles.
Prior to Bergeron’s departure, he expressed his discontent with the show’s decision to cast President Donald Trump’s ex-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in season 28. He shared his thoughts on X and explained that he met with the DWTS producers to try to convince them to steer away from politics.
“Chief among them was my hope that DWTS, in its return following an unprecedented year-hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably decisive booking from ANY political affiliations,” Bergeron wrote in a since-deleted message, adding that he “left that lunch convinced we were in agreement.”
Bergeron later clarified that he was more upset with the show’s decision to include politics in the first place than with the person himself and his political beliefs. He continued reflecting on the ordeal in a 2023 conversation with former DWTS pro Cheryl Burke on her Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast. During their candid chat, Bergeron reiterated that he was frustrated with the show’s producers in their decision to cast Spicer and do “exactly what we said we wouldn’t do.”
“I wrote the statement that I wrote, that did not name anybody, that did not name a political party,” he said of his post on X. “It merely said, ‘I was told certain things when I was asked my opinion, they agreed, and now they’ve thrown a curveball.’ I even went so far as to say it’s their right to do that. They’re the producers of the show, if that’s what they want to do they are entitled to do that.”
He continued, “They had screwed me. I’m gonna screw them. But I wanted the viewers to know this was a step too far to me. This was a step too far on the cusp of an election year. And again — had it been a Democrat, same statement.”
When asked if he’d ever return to the series, Bergeron bluntly replied, “No, never,” because “it’s not the same show” as it was in the earlier days.
Who replaced Bergeron as host?
Emma McIntyre/Getty
Alfonso Ribeiro and Tom Bergeron attend the 2024 Critics Choice Real TV Awards in June 2024 in Los Angeles.
Shortly after the network announced that Bergeron and Andrews had been let go, ABC revealed that Tyra Banks would be replacing them as the sole host.
Banks served as the host for three seasons from 2020 to 2022 before she was joined by former winner Alfonso Ribeiro beginning in season 31 in 2022.
Prior to season 32 in 2023, Banks left the show and was replaced by Julianne Hough. As of season 34, Ribeiro and Hough serve as co-hosts.
Why is Bergeron returning to Dancing with the Stars?
Michael Tullberg/Getty
Tom Bergeron attends the 4th annual staged celebrity reading of “It’s A Wonderful Life” in December 2024.
In November 2025, Dancing with the Stars stunned fans when they announced that Bergeron would be making his grand return as a guest judge — alongside Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough — for the show’s 20th anniversary episode on Nov. 11.
“I’m anticipating that it’s going to be a wonderfully emotional, nostalgic night,” he told TV Insider prior to his return. “In the audience will be a number of past champions and competitors. There’s a special dance challenge that is going to factor into the anniversary night that will evoke even more nostalgia.”
Bergeron expressed his excitement and said that the night is “going to be great.”
“It’s so much fun to watch my friends do the work,” he joked. “I don’t have to throw to commercials. I don’t have to worry about the timing. I’ll be respectful and sensitive of what Alfonso has to deal with, ’cause I’ve been there. But I’m just looking forward to being in an environment surrounded by people I really care about on live television, where there’s no second take. It’s my happy place.”
He later told Good Morning America on Nov. 5 that the show’s on-again, off-again showrunner Conrad Green was the person who convinced him to return.
“He really kind of extended the olive branch and got me reminiscing about all the fond memories,” he said. “So yeah, I’m looking forward to getting back.”
Read the original article on People
