Since Dancing with the Stars premiered on ABC, the reality competition show has been a huge hit for the network. In fact, even now that DWTS is in the midst of its 34th season, it has many devoted fans who want to know about its current celebrity dancers and when the finale is set to air. Most of all, there is a lot of interest in the announcement that arguably the show's biggest legend is set to return very soon.
In November 2025, it was announced that Dancing with the Stars' original host, Tom Bergeron, will be making a return to the show he had headlined for many years. Given the stunning way that Bergeron left the show, many observers were shocked to learn that he would soon be returning to the show. After the huge announcement, Bergeron has spoken out about his shock DWTS exit and why he is set to return as a guest judge.
Tom Bergeron chose to return to DWTS after the show got a new boss
Since Tom Bergeron hosted the first 28 seasons of Dancing with the Stars, fans were shocked when it was announced he'd been fired from his job. Years later, in October 2023, Bergeron appeared during an episode of Cheryl Burke‘s “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast and gave a simple reply when he was asked if he would return to DWTS. "No. Never." After making that remark, he went on to describe why he had no interest in appearing on the reality show again. “It’s not the same show. It’s not the same world. I did it for [15] years; there’s no point. What would I prove?”
Given his past stance on making a DWTS return, it is very surprising that Bergeron is set to appear on the show again as a guest judge. In November 2025, Bergeron told The Hollywood Reporter that he was only willing to make the comeback since Conrad Green has taken over as DWTS' showrunner. Furthermore, the former host also remarked on the success the show is enjoying under its current boss.
"If the previous regime was still in charge of the show, I wouldn’t go back. It was really because Conrad’s there, and you can tell. Just look at what the show is doing. It’s having a resurgence. It’s doing things that I can’t imagine many, if any, 20-year-old shows have done. They’ve been on a ratings tear. I said on Good Morning America, you’re more likely to see a zebra playing the piano than watch the success they’re having."
Before becoming Dancing with the Stars' current showrunner, Green had been in charge of the show for years after it premiered, which makes him Bergeron's former boss. Despite their past working relationship, that doesn't mean that Bergeron was willing to return to DWTS just because Green is back. Instead, Bergeron told The Hollywood Reporter that he'd previously turned down Green when he was invited to return to DWTS in a role he didn't think would be a good fit.
"He started extending an olive branch to me. First, he invited me to come sit in the audience for the 500th show. While I appreciated the overture, I knew I’d be too fidgety just sitting there. I needed a role where I could cause a little more trouble, and being a guest judge was something I suggested to him at lunch a few months ago. I said, “Look, I’ll charge you a scale, just union scale, and then you make a nice contribution to the Motion Picture and Television Fund.” With those conditions in place, I felt very comfortable. And happily, they met my terms."
Tom Bergeron bluntly addressed being fired from DWTS
As the aforementioned The Hollywood Reporter article continued, the outlet asked Tom Bergeron about his controversial firing from Dancing with the Stars. When the former host was dismissed, he was very open about not wanting to leave the show and the role that many fans loved him in. When The Hollywood Reporter asked him about that, Bergeron bluntly called out DWTS' former showrunner who fired him. Furthermore, Bergeron stated he never would have returned to the show if the showrunner who fired him was still in charge.
"It pissed me off. I’ll be honest with you. I did not like the showrunner. He knew that. I didn’t like being lied to, and he did that. So when he got fired, I think when Twitter was still a thing, I posted, “Karma is a bitch.” So I couldn’t be happier that the people who are running the show now are running the show. But to be honest, the 20th anniversary, in other people’s hands, would not have lured me back."
Tom Bergeron is set to return for the upcoming Dancing with the Stars episode, which is being dubbed the "20th Birthday Party," which will celebrate the reality show's anniversary on November 11, 2025.