Tom Bergeron Talks Returning to ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Getty Tom Bergeron

TV personality Tom Bergeron hosted “Dancing With the Stars” from its premiere season through season 28 before the show fired him and replaced him with Tyra Banks. In a June 2022 interview on Vicki Abelson’s podcast “Game Changers,” he said that was one thing that could get him to think about coming back now that the show is moving to Disney Plus.

Here is what the former host had to say:

Bergeron Said Getting Conrad Green Back as Executive Producer Could Get Him to Consider It

On the podcast, Bergeron addressed the May 2022 report from Deadline that said original executive producer was in “advanced talks” to return to the show. Green was at the helm of “Dancing With the Stars” from the beginning through season 18, and when news broke via Variety that Green was officially returning to the show after eight years away, Bergeron sent him a message telling him he was “the only person” that could get him back as host.

“I was having lunch with Cheryl Burke and Cheryl was the one that told me that Conrad was talking to [the executives about coming back], so we sent him a video from the restaurant and I said, ‘You son of a b****, you’d be the only person that would make me even think about [coming back],'” said Bergeron.

Bergeron then cracked a joke about the 1983 James Bond film “Never Say Never Again” and added, “You never know.”

He also said that regardless of whether he returns or not, he’s “happy that they finally came to their senses and are bringing somebody in that can really right the ship.”

Bergeron Also Said the Show Needs to Start Respecting the Professional Dancers Again

Bergeron also revealed on the podcast that he texted Green and advised him to give the professional dancers creative back, which he thinks they were not given these last few years on the show.

“When you get into, as I think they did in the couple of years since I’ve been gone, I felt that they were already starting to disrespect the pros … I said [to Conrad], look, the first thing you need to do is give the pros their control back and their self-respect back and their dignity back because they’re the heart and soul of [the show], I think. You start minimizing the appreciation for what they can bring to it and you’re just asking to be canceled,” said Bergeron.

He continued, “You weren’t hearing [the pros’] last names anymore, they weren’t able to do their own choreography or choose their own wardrobe and these are — I’ve worked with some of them for, they’re dear friends and I’ve known them for almost 20 years now. They know what they’re doing and these people who came in who thought they knew better didn’t know what they were doing.”

But he said that moving to streaming might breathe some new life into the show, which is something the professional dancers have said as well, citing more creativity and a chance for all the viewers to watch at the same time and vote live.

“It could be that [moving to Disney Plus] is a brilliant, timely way to give the show more life and I would say, because I’m biased here, you bring Conrad back and you’ve improved your odds markedly. It could … put a new spring in its step,” said Bergeron.

“Dancing With the Stars” returns for its 31st season this fall on Disney Plus.

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