Dancing With the Stars fans, say goodbye to Tom Bergeron — for good? In a new interview, the longtime host hinted that he won’t be returning to the competition series in the future following his ousting ahead of season 29.
“When people say, ‘I’m not gonna watch until you’re back,’ I say, ‘Well, there’s really no ‘until’ here,'” Bergeron, 65, told TV Guide magazine in an interview posted on Wednesday, December 2. “This train has left the station. I appreciate the sentiment, and I don’t hold it against anybody if they [watch].”
The former America’s Funniest Home Videos host also added that he was just as shocked as the rest of the world when he found out that he would not be coming back after 15 years on the series.
“I always thought Dancing would be where I end my hosting tenure,” he told the magazine. Of course, that wasn’t the case. The Emmy winner, who hosted the show since its 2005 debut, shared via Twitter over the summer that ABC had informed him that he and Erin Andrews would not be returning to the ballroom. They were later replaced by Tyra Banks.
Despite his firing, the former radio host holds a place in his heart for the show and the memories he created over the years, noting that he formed great friendships with those “on camera and behind the camera,” and used to throw midseason parties for the cast and staff: “It helped create a sense of solidarity, and then we’d try to sober up the next day.”
As for what’s next, that is still up in the air.
“My career path looks like a hostage note cut and pasted from a bunch of different magazines. I regarded myself as a broadcaster and was very fortunate that wonderful opportunities presented themselves. I’ve been on two network shows for the better part of 15 years each, so life’s been good,” the Massachusetts native said. “I’ve hosted every format imaginable. There’s no real fire in my gut to do it again. Having said that, I’m always open to surprises.”
