Tom Bergeron on a possible ‘DWTS' return ahead of new shark show
Former 'Dancing With the Stars' host Tom Bergeron, 70, hosts a Shark Week special called 'Dancing With Sharks.'
'I had two reactions,' Bergeron, 70, exclusively told The Post.
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6 Tom Bergeron on 'Dancing With Sharks.'
tombergeron/Instagram
'The first one was, 'What are you smoking?' And the second one was 'Where do I sign?' It was just too much fun an idea to pass up. Plus, as an added incentive, they gave me a little trip to the Bahamas.'
He quipped, 'Some of these sharks danced better than some of the humans in the 15 years that I watched couples [on 'Dancing With the Stars']. Sharks don't have stage fright.'
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Airing Sunday, July 20 (8 p.m. ET on Discovery), 'Dancing With Sharks' follows five shark experts as they dance underwater, surrounded by sharks, as Bergeron and a panel of judges (including Allison Holker and comedian Pete Holmes) offer commentary.
The Emmy-winning TV host, who also helmed 'Hollywood Squares' from 1998 to 2004 and 'America's Funniest Home Videos' from 2001 to 2015, hosted 'Dancing With the Stars' from 2005 until he was fired from the ABC show in 2020.
He was later replaced by Tyra Banks, who hosted just three seasons before her exit.
6 Contestant Jamie Ferguson interacting with a shark in a scene from 'Dancing with Sharks.'
AP
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'I miss the people,' Bergeron said, but he explained that his contract would have taken him to Season 30, 'at which point, I was going to leave on my own timing. So, I only missed two seasons by being fired.'
He added, 'Those two seasons, which would have been my final two, all occurred during the pandemic. And I would have hated that, because everything that I loved about the show — the camaraderie, throwing a party for everybody mid-season, hanging out together. You couldn't do any of that.'
Looking back on his firing, Bergeron said, 'In hindsight, they kind of did me a favor.'
6 Tom Bergeron on 'Dancing With Sharks.'
tombergeron/Instagram
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6 Tom Bergeron, Tonya Harding, and Sasha Farber on 'Dancing with Sharks.'
ABC
He added, 'I was able to go out doing the show the way I always did the show. And on that last show. Len [Goodman] and Bruno [Tonioli], Carrie Ann [Inaba] and I had a great time. I have great memories of wrapping it up that way.'
Bergeron recalled that he recently had lunch with original 'Dancing with the Stars' showrunner Conrad Green, who is back in that role and is 'the reason the show has righted itself.'
On whether he'd ever return, he told The Post: 'At lunch with Conrad, I offered a way that I'd feel comfortable going back for one night. I said, 'I'm not even going to charge you a lot of money. You pay me scale, and then you make a generous contribution to the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and I'll be there.''
6 Janelle Van Ruiten interacting with a shark in a scene from 'Dancing with Sharks.'
AP
6 Tom Bergeron on a 2018 episode of 'Dancing With the Stars.'
ABC
'So we'll see. The mirrorball is in their court,' he continued.
For now, Bergeron has a newfound interest in sharks.
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'Don't tell my wife, but now I'm intrigued about at least getting in one of the cages and going underwater and getting up close [with sharks],' he teased.
'The people I've met doing this show have really allayed some of my concerns about doing something like that.'
However, he joked, 'It might result in a divorce.'
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