Dancing with the Stars is always open to welcoming back one of their own — even if they have had ups and downs. For last week's episode of season 34, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night, the show welcomed back as a guest judge dance veteran Cheryl Burke, who performed on the show for a whopping 26th seasons (she left in November 2022), and holds the titles of first female pro to win the series and first pro to win two consecutive seasons. Now, the show is welcoming back not a pro but a former host, none other than Tom Bergeron, who was its inaugural host since it launched in 2005, until 2020, when he abruptly exited.
Tom on his comeback
Tom will join as guest judge alongside mainstay judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli for the show's 20th anniversary special, Birthday Party Night, which will kick off with an opening number choreographed by Derek set to a reimagined live version of the DWTS theme song by Ray Chew.
Speaking on Good Morning America about his return, Tom said it "feels really good," and that he is "really looking forward to it." He added of the show's milestone 20th anniversary: "I think 20 years of any primetime show is amazing, but for a show that's 20 years old that's also having a ratings resurgence — you're more likely to see a zebra playing the piano."
Revisiting Tom's exit
Tom made a shocking exit from DWTS in 2020, and has spoken openly about the fact that that year's casting of Donald Trump's former Press Secretary Sean Spicer was a driving force in his decision. Speaking on Cheryl's podcast Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans in 2023, he recalled how ahead of the 28th season of the show, which was set to air during the contentious 2020 election season, he suggested to show execs that they forgo casting any politicians from either political party in order to offer viewers a "wonderful escape" from the anxiety-inducing news cycle of the time.
In his conversation, he shared that there was an agreement to follow through, however, further recalling a subsequent meeting to go over the cast, he then said: "This former showrunner says to me, 'You might want to sit down for this last one.' I said 'Why?' And then they told me who it was," before referring to Sean as "the former press guy," to Trump. "I said, 'Guys, this is exactly what we said we wouldn't do. 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 [expletive.]'"
He further shared how the showrunners and producers' compromise was suggesting he take the season off, however, calling the decision a "betrayal," he added: "At that moment, I knew, 'This is probably my last season.'"
Tom had previously alluded to his feelings about the casting in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), at the time denouncing the casting of any politicians, which he told Cheryl he didn't warn the DWTS crew about, stating: "They had screwed me. I'm gonna screw them." He added: "But I wanted the viewers to know this was a step too far to me. This was a step too far on the cusp of an election year. And again — had it been a Democrat, same statement."
Tom was subsequently let go from DWTS, and wrote in another Tweet in July 2020 he had been "informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me."