Tom Bergeron needed ‘convincing’ to sign up for Dancing with the Stars

The priority Dancing with the stars war Tom Bergeron He looks back on how he first got involved in the show before its 20-year adrevaganza.

“Well, there was cheating,” Bergeron, 70, admitted on the Wednesday, Nov. 5, episode of Hello America. “A celebrity ballroom show, I thought, ‘Really?'”

His doubts don’t last long. “After that I agreed to just look Strictly come to dance, They were going to send me a DVD of a British show – mums. I said: ‘Look, I’m not going to answer yes or no until I see that,’ “He remembered.” I watched for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I was in it. “

Bergeron saw a throwback to the “variety show that I loved when I was growing up” mixed with “a modern day show thing” and was convinced to take on the project. “There was a charming appreciation of its kitsch,” he explained, joking that he “can’t make fun of the mirror” the way he used to since the reinvention of drinking This goodman.

News broke Wednesday that Bergeron is returning to Dwts Ballroom as a guest judge for the upcoming Pultive Party. He previously served as the show’s host for more than a decade before announcing in 2020 that he and cohost Erin Andrews they were allowed to continue before season 29.

Five years after his exit, Bergeron noted that going back Dwts you feel like you are coming home. “I know a little about that planning,” he joked about the 20th anniversary. “It’s going to be quite a night.”

Bergeron was the real deal Dwts The group beside the Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Goodman, who died in 2023. The former Derek hough has since joined the judging panel. His sister Julianne Hough now join the series with Alfonso Ribeiro.

In the special US of the Week Cover story to celebrate two decades of DwtsThe pair — both of whom took home Mirrorball titles around their multiple seasons as pros — are getting emotional as they look back on their journey on the show.

Julianne, said: “I feel humbled to be able to be a part of the show that raised me.” Julianne, 37, said We. “It’s always been my safe place to drive home.”

Not only did she share the same experience with her real brother, but Julianne also found a chosen family in Dwts ballroom. He continued: “We all take care of them.” “[We’re in a] A new generation [with] Social media too [that] sound and commentary; Most of them are very high, and most of them don’t make a lot of sense. But we [don’t] We lean towards each other, and we have each other’s backs. Our bubble is bright and very clean. So everyone out there, keep coming, because you can’t get out of our bubble. “

Derek, 40, added, “I’m thinking about that 22-year-old who didn’t know what he was doing. I’ve been exposed to the hypocrisy of that show. And here he is 20 seconds later, and he’s bigger than ever.”

While I’m looking forward to his big return to the show, Bergeron expressed how rare its success is. “I think 20 years of any primetime idea is amazing,” he said Kind of On Wednesday. “For a 20-year-old game to have such a renaissance in ratings as it is, you might as well have seen a zebra playing the piano.”

Dancing with the stars AIRS on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 PM ET, with new episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.

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