Fans can soon watch another season of Dancing With the Stars hit the 2025 TV schedule's dance floor on ABC and via Disney+ subscription, with Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro returning as hosts. The two have proven to be a force to be reckoned with since Hough joined Ribeiro on the ballroom floor in 2023 after Tyra Banks departed. Of course, neither of them can compare to Tom Bergeron, who hosted for the first 28 seasons. While he was unceremoniously fired, he actually planned to leave not long after.
Bergeron served as a host on DWTS since the show’s inception in 2005, and had a number of co-hosts, with Erin Andrews serving as his longest co-host from 2014 to 2020 until they were both fired. The two remain close and have even reunited since they left. That said, Bergeron isn’t bitter about it and has even expressed interest in potentially returning to DWTS. But when it came to his exit, he tells TV Insider that despite leaving earlier than he planned, it was a blessing in disguise:
The truth of it is, my plan was to leave after Season 30. As circumstances played out, I left two seasons before. But those seasons were during COVID, so what would’ve been my last two—I would’ve hated them. Everything I loved about the show, the camaraderie, hanging out—none of that would’ve been available. I’m glad it didn’t end that way. And not surprisingly, the showrunner that I locked horns with didn’t last much longer anyway.
Even though it’s been five years since his exit, Bergeron’s presence is still very much felt in the ballroom, and it’s hard not to imagine how things would have been had he not left. There is always still the hope that he’d come back, whether permanently, as a special guest, or even sitting in the audience. However, the former AFV host admitted that when he was asked to do the latter, he declined, but now, things might be a bit different:
Conrad Green, who’s the showrunner now, was my first showrunner. When the show hit its 500th episode, he [asked], ‘Would you come and sit in the audience?’ And I said, ‘No, I’d get too fidgety.’ But we had lunch six weeks ago [prior to this interview], and I presented to him a scenario in which I would come back for one night.
It’s unknown what that one-night scenario is, and assuming he would still be too fidgety to sit in the audience, he could always come back as a guest co-host or a guest judge. He certainly has seen his fair share of dances on DWTS to know what to look for, but in whatever capacity that is, it’s nice to know that there is still a possibility he could come back. Regardless, though, Bergeron is grateful for the experience he had:
I’m going full Ringo: peace and love. I have great fondness for the impact that DWTS had on my career and the friendships that resulted.
It’s unknown when and if Tom Bergeron will ever come back to Dancing With the Stars, no matter how brief, but the show has remained close to his heart. He even hosted a wild crossover between the dancing competition series and Shark Week over the summer, appropriately titled Dancing With the Sharks, and it was just as insane as you’d think it’d be.
At the very least, the full cast for Season 34 of DWTS has been announced, and there are some pretty great contenders and couples. So even if Bergeron doesn’t come back, fans are in for a treat when the new season premieres on Tuesday, September 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming with a Disney+ subscription.
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