Tom Bergeron made his long-awaited return to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom to mark the 20th anniversary of the show.
Bergeron, 70, served as a guest judge during the Tuesday, November 11, episode of the ABC reality competition series, joining Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough at the judges table to score the remaining couples’ dances.
Current host Alfonso Ribeiro kicked off the night by asking his dear friend Bergeron to introduce the show.
“I’d love too,” he said, shortly before new cohost Julianne Hough started tearing up when they all walked down the ballroom steps. The veteran host added, “I am thrilled to be here, it’s such a rush. So great to see you all, and we have a number of familiar faces in the audiences.”
Before taking a seat at the judge’s table, Bergeron revealed just what he was looking for from the remaining competitors.
“You’e a week away from the semifinals, so I’m looking for the type of dance that induces goosebumps,” he said. “But since I’m sitting next to Bruno, I’m also trying to avoid a concussion.”
Tonioli, for his part, showed off his signature hand gestures.
The 20th anniversary episode of Dancing With the Stars also included first round dances set to music from iconic freestyles throughout the show’s run and, for the first time ever, competitive dances by the celebrity contestants without their pro partners for bonus points.
As for Bergeron, he hosted Dancing With the Stars for its first 28 seasons. Over the years, he was joined by cohosts Lisa Canning in season 1, Samantha Harris for seasons 2 through 9, Brooke Burke for seasons 10 through 17 and Erin Andrews for seasons 18 through 28.
After serving as the main host since the June 2005 premiere, Bergeron and his then-cohost, Andrews, now 47, were axed in July 2020. Tyra Banks replaced the pair as the host of season 29, while current hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough took over in season 32.
“I think it’s all about evolution. I think any show like this that has been on many, many seasons needs to continue to evolve,” executive producer Andrew Llinares told reporters in September 2020 of the decision to part ways with Bergeron and Andrews. “I think changing the host was all about evolution, it was about making the show feel fresh, making it feel new [and] kind of make it reach out — maybe to a new audience as well, as well as the audience that’s been there for years.”
Bergeron’s exit came after he publicly criticized Dancing With the Stars for casting former White House press secretary Sean Spicer for season 28. He later confirmed the mounting tensions behind the scenes of the show factored into his departure.
“In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” he said during an October 2021 episode of the “Bob Saget’s Here for You” podcast. “So, the end of the season that turned out to be my last season [in 2019], I kind of knew. So I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted. … It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads.”
Despite lingering disappointment about his dismissal from the show, Bergeron looked back on his time there fondly.
“I look at the math and 95 percent of my experience was really quite wonderful,” he noted during an October 2023 episode of Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast.
Bergeron is not the only familiar face to return to Dancing With the Stars during its milestone 20th year. Burke, 41, stopped by Halloween Night on October 28 to serve as a guest judge after concluding her lengthy tenure as a pro in 2022.
“It’s so special to go back home, I guess, to a place where I have spent most of my life in that ballroom,” Burke exclusively told Us Weekly on October 23.
Burke also reflected on her “heartbreaking” exit, describing it as “the hardest decision of my life.”
“I mean, I’ve spent most of my life on that show, so I think the umbilical cord is still attached,” she explained. “Like, I love the show, and I have so many great memories, and it’s changed my life. It helped me find my voice in general, like, when I look back at my audition, it’s just insanity. I would say that I am the woman I am today because of the show, and I am grateful to just even be asked back and to also bring another perspective.”
