Copyright The Boston Globe
Tom Bergeron is heading back to “Dancing with the Stars.” The Haverhill native and former host will return to the ballroom as a guest judge on Tuesday night for the long-running reality competition show’s 20th anniversary celebration. Bergeron stopped by “Good Morning America” on Wednesday to chat about the announcement, joking that “DWTS” fans “might remember me with darker hair.” “I’m honestly thrilled to be going back,” Bergeron said. “I think for anyone who has watched any part of the past 20 years, it’s going to be a lovely reunion, and I’m going back to be in a room full of friends.” It comes as a bit of a surprise that Bergeron, who was the show’s original host and helmed the program for 15 years from 2005 to 2019, is returning to the series, as his departure from “DTWS” in 2020 was contentious. The Emmy winner revealed the “betrayal” that led to him leaving “DWTS” in a podcast interview with Cheryl Burke in 2023. Bergeron told Burke that, in 2019, he met with producers over lunch about the show’s 28th season, and recommended that they avoid having contestants tied to politics since the 2020 presidential election was fast approaching, and he hoped “DWTS” could be a “wonderful escape from all that divisiveness.” Advertisement The warning would go unheeded, however, with Bergeron explaining that a showrunner and a producer called him several weeks after the lunch to tell him that former White House press secretary Sean Spicer had been cast. Bergeron released a statement in 2019 addressing Spicer’s casting, saying “We can agree to disagree,” but that ultimately it was the producers’ call, and admitted to Burke that he offered to take season 28 off as a compromise. However, the show opted to let him out of his contract instead, with Bergeron ultimately leaving the show prior to the star of season 29 in 2020. “That really pissed me off,” Bergeron said. “I said, ‘Let me try to be Switzerland here,’ but I was furious.” In addition to Bergeron, cohost Erin Andrews left “DWTS” as well ahead of season 29, with Tyra Banks taking over as host. Alfonso Ribeiro joined in 2022, serving as a cohost opposite Banks until her departure from the show ahead of season 32 in 2023, with Julianne Hough stepping in. Ribeiro and Hough continue to host the series, now in its 34th season. Advertisement Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.
