As Dancing With the Stars celebrated its 500th episode on Tuesday, the series also honored former host Tom Bergeron. For the show’s first 28 seasons, Bergeron was the host of DWTS, co-hosting with several different people throughout his time on the series, but Bergeron always stayed on. Despite being let go from the show ahead of Season 29 along with co-host Erin Andrews, DWTS had a touching way of honoring him during its milestone episode.
Most fans didn’t get to see the honor since it didn’t happen on-screen. Via Entertainment Tonight, there was a speech given at the end of the show commemorating 500 episodes, with an executive saying that Bergeron at the start “was absolutely at the core of the success of this show.” Even though current hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough have found their rhythm together, you can’t help but still miss Bergeron from time to time, and it sounds like the show misses him, too, even if they did fire him.
However, for the first 28 seasons, Bergeron was basically the face of Dancing With the Stars, so it’s nice that he is still somewhat part of the series and is missed by everyone. Unfortunately, fans shouldn’t expect the former AFV host to come back. In 2023, Bergeron shared on former pro Cheryl Burke’s Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast that he would “never” come back “because it’s not the same show. It’s not the same world.” He also admitted he was “miserable” during his final season. While things could have changed since then, it doesn’t seem likely. At the very least, it’s clear that he still had a big impact on DWTS and will forever.
Meanwhile, the 500th episode of Dancing With the Stars not only saw fan-favorite pro Sharna Burgess returning to the ballroom and other former pros and past contestants in the audience, but it also saw the remaining six couples reimagining an iconic dance from previous seasons, adding their own interpretation and flair to it. Following another round that consisted of an Instant Dance Challenge, NBA champion Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach were sent home. Making it to the semi-finals with still a chance to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy are Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson, Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten, Danny Amendola and Witney Carson, Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold, and Chander Kinney and Brandon Armstrong.
A new episode airs on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.