Five years ago, the producers of Dancing with the Stars made the one of the biggest mistakes ever made on the show. They fired popular show host Tom Bergeron. The beloved and witty long-time host was replaced with Tyra Banks, who was neither witty nor beloved.
Rather than being quick with a quip, Tyra seemed to be more about showcasing her bizarre wardrobe choices. Plus her “smizing” got on everyone’s nerves. Fans were both confused and furious by the choice of the former supermodel as host of the show.
Fortunately, the DWTS show runners have made peace with Tom. In case you haven’t heard, he’ll be returning on the November 11th episode as a guest judge. Five years after his termination, he’s returning in celebration of the show’s 20th anniversary. As he should be.
Tom Bergeron will return to Dancing with the Stars
As Tom told The Hollywood Reporter, he’s “thrilled” to be back. But he didn’t agree to guest judge merely because it’s the show’s 20th anniversary. Executive producer Conrad Green, who started with the series in season one and returned in season 33, was the one to “extend an olive branch to me.”
“If the previous regime was still in charge of the show, I wouldn’t go back,” he made clear. “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.”
While fans are ecstatic at Tom’ will be back’s return – even for one night – THR wanted to know whose idea it was. Did the show reach out to Tom, or did Tom ask to come back for the big anniversary?
“A combination of both, actually,” he replied. “When Conrad Green came back as the showrunner … he kind of put everything back together again, Humpty Dumpty-style. And he started extending an olive branch to me.
“First, he invited me to come sit in the audience for the 500th show,” he revealed. “While I appreciated the overture … I needed a role where I could cause a little more trouble. 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’ … Happily, they met my terms.”
Dancing with the Stars Season 33 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.
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