It’s been five years since Tom Bergeron was controversially fired from Dancing With The Stars and replaced by the supermodel Tyra Banks. This came after he hosted the popular reality show for 28 seasons, ever since it premiered back in 2005.
Now, Bergeron is making his triumphant return to the dancing world with a new hosting gig.
Bergeron Returns To Dancing World
Bergeron, 70, will be hosting the new show Dancing with Sharks during this year’s Shark Week. The show will feature expert divers and their real-life shark partners performing underwater dances.
“Blending skill, grace and the daring pursuit of the ultimate underwater thrill, five divers — all trained by a world-class underwater choreographer — will compete to show off their skills during epic underwater dances,” the show’s official logline states.
“Each diver will attempt to outperform their competitors, with moves including the Hammerhead Hoedown and Tiger Trot, and redefine dancing with danger,” it continues. “They will have one shot to wow the judges and be crowned the first-ever champion of Dancing With Sharks.”
Related: Tom Bergeron Celebrates After ‘DWTS’ Executive Producer Who Fired Him Exits
Bergeron Confirms New Hosting Gig
Bergeron addressed his new gig in a video posted to his Instagram page. It featured John Williams’ iconic score from Jaws, and it showed Bergeron with his hand covering a portion of his shirt. After a fake yawn and a sneeze, Bergeron slowly dropped his hands to reveal the words Dancing With Sharks written on his chest.
The words “See you this summer! It will be fintastic!” could be seen in the video. The post also included the caption, “Yup. It’s happening.”
Bergeron tagged the official accounts for both Shark Week and Discovery in the post.
Fans were shocked when Bergeron was unceremoniously fired from Dancing With The Stars in July of 2020 after fifteen years hosting the show. At the time, show heads said that they wanted to take the program in a “new creative direction.”
Related: Tom Bergeron Won’t Be Back On ‘DWTS,’ Alfonso Ribeiro Joins Tyra Banks
Bergeron Discusses His Firing
The next year, while appearing on Bob Saget’s Here for You podcast, Bergeron admitted that he “wasn’t surprised” to be “fired” from Dancing With The Stars.
“In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” he explained in the October of 2021 interview. “So at the end of the season, that turned out to be my last season, I kind of knew. I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted. … It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads [behind the scenes]. It wasn’t a pleasant [experience].”
“I wasn’t surprised that that was my last season, so there was no blue period,” he continued. “Actually, I think Erin [Andrews] and I had more fun being fired than virtually anybody.”
Bergeron and his co-host Erin Andrews were replaced by the supermodel Tyra Banks. Unfortunately for Banks, her hosting skills were widely panned, and she only lasted three seasons. Indeed, fans made it clear that they vastly preferred Bergeron as a host over Banks.
These days, Dancing With The Stars is hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. While they are certainly more popular with fans than Banks was, Bergeron is still dearly missed.
Bergeron is one of the most talented hosts in television. That’s why we can’t wait to see him back on our screens with Dancing With The Sharks finally premieres during Shark Week in July!
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