Former Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron is looking back on how he first got involved with the show ahead of its 20th anniversary extravaganza.
“Well, it really took some convincing,” Bergeron, 70, admitted during the Wednesday, November 5, episode of Good Morning America. “A celebrity ballroom show, I thought, ‘Really?’”
His hesitation didn’t last long, however. “Then I agreed to just look at Strictly Come Dancing, they were gonna send me a DVD of the British show — the mothership. And I said, ‘Look, I won’t answer yes or no until I see that,’” he recalled. “I watched maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I was in.”
Bergeron saw a throwback to “the variety shows that I loved when I was growing up” mixed with “the modern reality show element” and was convinced to take on the project. “It had a charming appreciation for its own kitsch,” he explained, joking that he “can’t make fun of the mirrorball” like he used to since it was renamed to honor the late Len Goodman.
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News broke on Wednesday that Bergeron is returning to the DWTS ballroom as a guest judge for the upcoming 20th Birthday Party episode. He previously served as the show’s host for more than a decade before announcing in 2020 that he and cohost Erin Andrews were let go ahead of season 29.
Five years after his exit, Bergeron noted that going back to DWTS feels like coming home. “I know a bit of what they’re planning,” he teased of the 20-year anniversary bash. “It’s gonna be quite a night.”
Bergeron was part of the original DWTS team alongside judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Goodman, who died in 2023. Former pro Derek Hough has since joined the judging panel. His sister Julianne Hough now cohosts the series with Alfonso Ribeiro.
In an exclusive Us Weekly cover story celebrating two decades of DWTS, the Houghs — both of whom took home mirrorball trophies throughout their many seasons as pros — got emotional while looking back at their journeys on the show.
“I feel humbled that I’ve been able to be a part of a show that raised me,” Julianne, 37, told Us. “It’s always been my safe place to call home.”
Not only does she get to share the experience with her real-life brother, but Julianne also found a chosen family in the DWTS ballroom. “We all take care of each other,” she continued. “[We’re in a] new generation [with] social media and [that] noise and commentary; a lot of it is super-positive, and a lot of it is super-negative. But we [don’t] pit ourselves against each other, and we have each other’s backs. Our bubble is so bright and so pure. So everybody out there, keep it coming, because you can’t pop our bubble.”
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Derek, 40, added, “I think about that 22-year-old kid who didn’t know what he was doing. I’ve had heartbreaks and the best moments of my life in that ballroom. I’ve battled with self-doubt and had fights in that room. So much has happened in this one space. I’ve literally grown up on this show. To do that on TV in front of millions of people, it’s extraordinary. And here we are 20 years later, and it’s bigger than ever.”
While looking forward to his big return to the show, Bergeron expressed just how rare its success is. “I think 20 years of any primetime show is amazing,” he said on GMA Wednesday. “For a show 20 years old to also be having a ratings resurgence as they are, you’re more likely to see a zebra playing the piano. And I really think it’s a credit to the team kind of getting it back to its essence.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, with new episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.
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