Havy/ABC/Getty Tom Bergeron says he won't ever return to DWTS.
A “Dancing With the Stars” familiar face has confirmed that he has absolutely no plans to return to the show. During an interview on the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast, former DWTS host Tom Bergeron said that there’s no way he’d come back.
“I look at the math of it and 95% of my experience was really quite wonderful,” Bergeron said on the October 23, 2023, podcast episode. “The show that I left was not the show that I loved.”
When host Cheryl Burke, a former DWTS dancer, asked Bergeron whether he’d come back, Bergeron responded, “No, never.” He said the show is vastly different than it was when he first started out as the host in 2005. “I did it for a lot of years. You know, there’s no point. What would I prove?”
Bergeron was let go from DWTS in 2020.
Here’s what you need to know:
Tom Bergeron Previously Suggested That He’d Consider Returning to DWTS
Bergeron has been adamant about not returning to “Dancing With the Stars,” but there was one point in time when he said he’d consider it.
On the September 6, 2022, episode of “Burke in the Game,” another podcast hosted by Burke, Bergeron revealed that he could return.
“What will it take for you to come back?” host Burke asked him.
“Well, there are other people there,” Bergeron said, referring to host Tyra Banks. “I appreciate your question, but there are other people in those jobs right now.”
“Maybe for season — how about for season 32? Maybe?” Burke suggested.
“Let’s just say we’ll cross that bridge should it be in front of us,” Bergeron responded. Looking back, it seems his comments may have hinted at a host shakeup. A short while later, it was reported that Banks was out as host and that Julianne Hough would be joining Alfonso Ribeiro in the ballroom. It’s unknown, however, whether Bergeron was ever approached to return.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy Previously Said He Would Never Return to the Show, Either
Bergeron isn’t the only former DWTS cast member who has said he wouldn’t ever return to the show. Former ballroom pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy won’t be back, either.
In an exclusive interview with Heavy, Chmerkovskiy said that he’s leaving that part of his life in the past. However, he said that he would have a connection thanks to family members who still compete.
“This is a great show, great group of people,” Chmerkovskiy said. “But I feel like we’ve written a book on how to do ‘Dancing With the Stars’ back in the day. And, you know, I’m that fan. I’m a fan of the original version. The way it was. The way everybody fell in love with the show,” Chmerkovskiy added, expressing similar views as Bergeron.
“I don’t have plans to be part of the show. Having said that, I’m always part of the show,” he explained, noting his wife, his brother, and his sister-in-law — Peta Murgatroyd, Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson, respectively — are all a part of season 32. But for Maks Chmerkovskiy? He’s totally cool being in the audience. “I don’t have any plans for physical participation,” he said.
Maks Chmerkovskiy did end up participating in the show, however. On the October 24, 2023, episode, he was part of the Len Goodman tribute dance.
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