Julianne Hough moved to tears by Tom Bergeron's comeback on Dancing With the Stars 20th birthday episode

Former Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron made his much-awaited return on the 20th anniversary night of the show, as a guest judge. He hosted the first 28 seasons of the show. 

The former host had to leave the show five years ago; his departure came after he reportedly criticised casting former White House press secretary Sean Spicer for season 28.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the former host revealed that it was executive producer Conrad Green, who started with the series from its debut in season one and returned in season 33, who extended an olive branch to Tom, while he pointed out, 

“If the previous regime was still in charge of the show, I wouldn’t go back.”

Dancing With the Stars co-host Julianne Hough gets emotional as Tom Bergeron returns

As current host Alfonso Ribeiro welcomed the former host and good friend, Tom Bergeron, Julianne Hough seemingly had an emotional moment as she was seen all teary-eyed when all of them walked down the ballroom steps.  

The veteran host said that he is absolutely thrilled to be here, while calling it “such a rush.” 

“So great to see you all, and we have a number of familiar faces in the audiences.”

When asked about what kind of performances he is expecting from the remaining contestants, Tom Bergeron stated, 

"You're a week away from the semifinals, so I’m looking for the type of dance that induces goosebumps,” he said. “But since I’m sitting next to Bruno, I’m also trying to avoid a concussion.”

Tom Bergeron pointed out that his return is not merely because the show is celebrating its 20th year of success. The former host added, 

 “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.”

Tom Bergeron on whether he would like to come back as the host on Dancing With the Stars

The Hollywood Reporter asked the former host whether he would like to return as a permanent host, to which Tom Bergeron replied,

“No, I’m done. I’m done. They have a permanent host, and he’s really good. I have no desire to host anymore. I’m always open to being surprised, but it would not be that show, because they have great people doing it. But honestly, to go back as a guest judge, I’m just thrilled about. But no, I would never host it again."

 

In the same interview, the former host was asked about his departure from the show. Tom explained that despite not liking being lied to, the show runner did exactly that.

During his appearance on an episode of the “Bob Saget’s Here for You” podcast in 2021, Tom Bergeron admitted that he saw the departure coming. 

“So, the end of the season that turned out to be my last season [in 2019], I kind of knew. So I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted. … It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads.”

Stay tuned for more updates.