On Tuesday, Nov. 11, and week 9 of\u00a0season 34 of the competition<\/a>, ABC celebrated the series’ 20th anniversary and brought back former host\u00a0Tom Bergeron<\/a> to the ballroom. Tom, 70, welcomed the audience to the show and was then joined by current co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro<\/a> and Julianne Hough<\/a>.<\/p>\n Then Alfonso and Julianne welcomed him with open arms, and Julianne announced he was the evening’s “honorary guest judge.” As she welcomed her friend back to the stage, she teared up and leaned on him for support.<\/p>\n “Hi sweetheart, I am thrilled to be here, what a rush,” Tom said to Julianne. The pair’s friendship extends back nearly two decades. Julianne served as a pro from seasons 4 through 8, while Tom was the host. He hosted seasons 1 through 29, from 2005 through 2020.<\/p>\n The former host then shared he’s hoping to see the kind of dance that gives “goosebumps,” while avoiding a “concussion” sitting next to Bruno Tonioli at the judges’ table.<\/p>\n ABC<\/p>\n Alfonso Ribeiro, Tom Bergeron and Julianne Hough on November 11, 2025<\/p>\n Prior to appearing on the show, Tom told\u00a0TV Insider<\/a>\u00a0that he anticipated the night would be “wonderfully emotional, nostalgic.”<\/p>\n “It\u2019s so much fun to watch my friends do the work,” he joked. “I don\u2019t have to throw to commercials. I don\u2019t have to worry about the timing. I\u2019ll be respectful and sensitive of what Alfonso has to deal with, \u2019cause I\u2019ve been there,” he added.<\/p>\n “But I\u2019m just looking forward to being in an environment surrounded by people I really care about on live television, where there\u2019s no second take. It\u2019s my happy place.”<\/p>\n Julianne, Tom and Alfonso each marked the occasion hours before the episode and shared videos to the official Instagram page. Julianne commented on the post and celebrated Tom’s return, writing, “Longest besides the judges of course\u2026 \u2764\ufe0f Tom, YOU are magic \u2728.”<\/p>\n Tom’s DWTS tenure came to a close in 2020, after he earned nine\u00a0Emmy Award<\/a>\u00a0nominations and took home the award once in 2012.<\/p>\n But in 2020, he and his co-host at the time, Erin Andrews<\/a>, would not be returning for season 29. After the announcement, the then executive producer, Andrew Llinares, explained that Tom had been let go as\u00a0the series “evolves.”<\/a> Adding, “It was all about making the show feel fresh, making it feel new and make it reach out to a new audience \u2014 as well as the audience that’s been there for years.”<\/p>\n After Tom and Erin were let go, ABC announced that\u00a0Tyra Banks<\/a>\u00a0would replace them as the sole host. She served as the host for three seasons from 2020 to 2022 before she was joined by former winner\u00a0Alfonso\u00a0beginning in season 31 in 2022. Banks left the show<\/a>\u00a0and was replaced by\u00a0Julianne Hough<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n Before Tom departed the series, he\u00a0expressed his discontent with the show’s decision<\/a>\u00a0to cast\u00a0President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s ex-White House Press Secretary\u00a0Sean Spicer in season 28<\/a>. He shared his thoughts on X and explained that he met with the\u00a0DWTS\u00a0producers to try to convince them to steer away from politics.<\/p>\n Tom later clarified that he was more upset with the show’s decision to\u00a0include politics in the first place<\/a>\u00a0than with the person himself and his political beliefs. Then in 2023, he\u00a0reiterated that he was frustrated with the show’s producers<\/a>\u00a0in their decision to cast Spicer and do “exactly what we said we wouldn’t do.”<\/p>\n![\"ABC](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/a40de58e7415db1592874c5594edd378.jpeg\"\/)
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