Tom Bergeron famously hosted Dancing With the Stars for over a decade and will return to the ballroom as a guest judge for this week’s 20th Birthday Party episode. But would Bergeron ever be interested in appearing on the show as a contestant?
“F**k no!” he said in an interview with Parade published on Monday, November 10. “Hey man, I’m 70 years old. I don’t need that kind of hassle. I have such respect for what the contestants put themselves through. I have no desire to do that.”
Bergeron went on to note that he has “no desire to host anything anymore, really,” adding, “I’m kind of loving life. And to be able to go on the show and watch my buddies do the heavy lifting, that’s just lovely.”
While Bergeron isn’t interested in taking home the Mirrorball trophy for himself, there’s one celebrity the show’s former host says he wished had competed during his time on the ABC competition series.
“I know he wouldn’t do it now. But years ago. I’ve been friends for quite a few years with William Shatner,” he revealed. “And I was a little irked at him when he did The Masked Singer after I did it. … I could never get him to do Dancing with the Stars. But I thought he would have been absolutely great. He’s such a funny, charming guy. But I think that ship has sailed.”
Bergeron served as the main host of DWTS for its first 28 seasons, until he was let go ahead of the show’s Season 29 return in 2020. He later revealed that he was fired due to disagreements with showrunner Andrew Llinares over changes to the show’s direction, particularly regarding the casting of former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in Season 28.
Alfonso Ribeiro, Witney Carson, and Tom Bergeron on Season 19, Episode 11, of ABC’s ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ November 25, 2014.
Adam Taylor / ©ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I said, ‘Guys, this is exactly what we we said we wouldn’t do.’ And I would have responded the same way if they had booked Hillary Clinton, whom I voted for,” Bergeron shared on the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast in 2023. “‘Don’t go there. This is, you know, not the right time. Play to our strengths, be the show that gives people a break from all this bulls**t.’”
Bergeron ended up publicly calling out the casting decision via social media, telling the Here For You podcast in 2021 that he later suspected Season 28 would be his last.
Earlier this year, Bergeron revealed to TV Guide Magazine that he planned on leaving the show after Season 30 when his contract was up. “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,” he shared in August. “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.”
Six years after his final season, Bergeron will join Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli at the judges’ desk on the show’s Tuesday, November 11, 20th anniversary episode.
“I’m anticipating that it’s going to be a wonderfully emotional, nostalgic night. In the audience will be a number of past champions and competitors,” he exclusively told TV Insider earlier this month. “There’s a special dance challenge that is going to factor into the anniversary night that will evoke even more nostalgia. It’s going to be great.”
He continued, “And I’ll tell you, it’s so much fun to watch my friends do the work. I don’t have to throw to commercials. I don’t have to worry about the timing. I’ll be respectful and sensitive of what Alfonso [Ribeiro] has to deal with, ’cause I’ve been there. But I’m just looking forward to being in an environment surrounded by people I really care about on live television, where there’s no second take. It’s my happy place.”
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+ (Streaming Next Day on Hulu)
For a more extended celebration of two decades of Dancing With the Stars, from exclusive interviews to retrospectives and must-see photos, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Dancing With the Stars 20th Anniversary special issue, available for purchase online at DWTS.TVGM2025.com and on newsstands now.
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