Tom Bergeron Steals The Show In ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Reunion (And Sets The Record Straight On His Shock Firing)

Tom Bergeron’s highly anticipated return to Dancing With the Stars was full of nostalgia, emotion and celebration Tuesday as the ABC competition marked its 20th anniversary. Five years after he was unceremoniously fired from the show he helped create, the popular former host returned to the ballroom this time to the judges’ table, a standing ovation that moved both him and his co-host, Julianne Hough, who became teary-eyed as she welcomed him back.

Bergeron, 70, helmed the first 28 seasons of DWTS from 2005 to 2020 before his very public exit over creative differences with then–showrunners regarding the controversial casting of former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. In multiple interviews in the months leading up to his guest hosting gig, Bergeron told interviewers that his firing “pissed [him] off” and that he felt as if he had been lied to and betrayed by the producers at the time. Thankfully, with longtime executive producer Conrad Green the original architect of the franchise is now back in charge, Bergeron said he was finally comfortable with the idea of returning. “If the previous regime was still in charge, I wouldn’t have gone back,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Conrad extended an olive branch and I felt like it was the right time and the right people.”

Tuesday’s episode, which featured all of the glitz and glamour of the past two decades as it celebrated 20 years of sequins, spray tans and show-stopping performances, welcomed back fan-favorite champions and pro dancers such as Rumer Willis, Apolo Anton Ohno, Xochitl Gomez, Rashad Jennings, Mark Ballas and Karina Smirnoff. The night also had a bittersweet element to it, as it celebrated the first major anniversary without the series’ late head judge Len Goodman, who died in 2023. Bergeron paid tribute to his longtime colleague, saying that he loved Goodman’s humor and his sense of authority and warmth: “When the couples got a 10 from Len, it always meant more.”

Off camera, Bergeron said that before agreeing to return, he asked that the gig benefit charity. He asked the network to donate to the Motion Picture & Television Fund, for which fans and his colleagues online lauded him. The episode’s social media chatter was electric with many longtime viewers calling his cameo “the emotional high point of the season.”

Though he was grateful for the crowd’s response, which obviously stoked warm memories, Bergeron was adamant that his run as the show’s host was over. “No, I’m done. I mean, they have great people doing it now. I’m thrilled to come back as a guest judge, but I have no desire to host again,” he said with a laugh. He also ruled out the possibility of ever competing as a contestant, either. “Why would I? I know what they go through,” he said with a chuckle. “I danced once. That was enough.”

The former host did, however, use his time on the show to call for one significant change: the return of the Dancing With the Stars results show. He argued that reinstating a separate night for eliminations would allow for voting to be more fair across time zones. “The West Coast can’t even vote now. The results show made it fair and also felt like a fun variety hour. It’s time to bring it back,” he said.