Tom Bergeron was unceremoniously fired from Dancing With the Stars five years ago after comments he made regarding casting choices. But the former host still holds a lot of affection for the show and its cast members, as evidenced by him celebrating its 20th anniversary premiere date back on June 1.
In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Bergeron reflected on the 20th anniversary and made a rare comment about the loss of long-time head judge Len Goodman, who passed away in April 2023 after a battle with cancer.
When asked about the show celebrating 20 years on the air and if he misses anything about it, Bergeron was his typical funny self, saying, “I joked, somebody asked me that, I said, ‘The paycheck!’ But the camaraderie, I think. It was a real unexpected gift of my career.”
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He also said that he used to make fun of the Dancing With the Stars prize, the Mirrorball Trophy, because it was such a giant, kind of ostentatious thing, but he can’t poke fun anymore.
“I used to make fun of that trophy all the time, but now it’s got Len’s name on it, so that’s kind of sweet,” said Bergeron.
When Goodman died in April 2023, Bergeron posted several tributes to social media, including a photo collage of them together simply captioned, “A good man, indeed,” and he reposted the Entertainment Tonight tribute to Goodman.
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He also told Extra TV at the time, “One of his social media handles was always Grouchy Len Goodman and in truth, what I’ll remember is the smile and the twinkle in the eye…he would ratchet up the grouchy for television…a 10 from Len was an honor that every celebrity, every pro knew, when it was bestowed on them, they basked in that, even if they didn’t go on to win.”
Bergeron was at Entertainment Tonight promoting his new program Dancing With Sharks, which he is hosting for the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. The gist of the show is that “five divers compete to put together an amazing underwater routine with their toothy partners. From hammerheads to tigers and nurse sharks, each shark has its own signature dance moves. At the end of the show, a winner is crowned – if all the competitors make it that far.”
Dancing With Sharks premieres Sunday, July 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery. Former Dancing With the Stars pro Allison Holker also appears as one of the judges.
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