Bobby Bones confirmed he was approached to replace Tom Bergeron as host of “Dancing with the Stars” more than five years ago.
During a March 2026 discussion with Bergeron on “The BobbyCast” podcast, Bones confirmed producers went to him before hiring Tyra Banks to replace the long-time DWTS host in 2020. At the time, Bones didn’t know that Bergeron was fired from the show and was under the impression that the Emmy-winning host had stepped down on his own after 28 seasons.
“In full transparency, I was told you were leaving,” Bones told Bergeron. “It was, ‘Hey, Tom is leaving at the end of this season. Would you want to come and host ‘Dancing with the Stars?’ And I said, ‘I think that would be great.’ But, again, I respected you so much. I was like, ‘Hey, can I talk to Tom and get advice on this decision?’ And they were like, ‘Contractually, we don’t think you should do that.'”
The radio host added that after “multiple conversations” with producers about the job, he found out that Banks was hired instead when he saw the news on Twitter.
“We walked through all of that? Then out of nowhere … I never had it, so they didn’t take it from me, but every indication was I was going to be that guy,” Bones recalled. “That industry is so fleeting.”
Tom Bergeron Previously Revealed He Heard Bones Was Asked to Take His Job
Bergeron, who thought DWTS would just be a “fun summer gig before it turned into a 28-season-long commitment, previously revealed he had heard that Bones was considered as a frontrunner to be his DWTS replacement. In an October 2023 appearance on Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast, Bergeron told Burke he had heard that Bones was approached by “Dancing With the Stars” producers months after he won the 27th season of the celebrity ballroom competition with pro partner Sharna Burgess.
“What I’ve heard is before they went to Tyra they went to him,” Bergeron said of Bones. “That’s what I’ve heard. Now I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I heard it from several reliable sources.”
“I would have [taken it if I was him],” Bergeron added.
Banks ultimately served as the host of DWTS for three seasons, from 2020 to 2022.
In 2021, Bones told Us Weekly he would have considered a co-hosting role alongside Banks. “If they came and said, ‘Hey why don’t you come back and host with Tyra?’ that would be something I would consider,” he shared at the time. “But I’m never gonna dance again, you know?”
Tom Bergeron gave Alfonso Ribeiro His Blessing to Host DWTS
Alfonso Ribeiro is now the host of DWTS, but he signed on to the show during Banks’ final season.
Bergeron shared his approval when Ribeiro was announced as the new DWTS co-host in July 2022. He posted two photos of himself and the actor/DWTS champ to Instagram, calling the decision to hire Ribeiro as host one of the producers’ “smartest decisions.”
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight that year, Ribeiro joked about following in Bergeron’s career path after taking over the hosting veteran’s duties on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” seven years prior.
“Tom and I talk every once in a while,” Ribeiro told the outlet. “I’m like, Tom needs to get another big show because when ‘AFV’ and ‘Dancing With the Stars’ end, I need another job that I need to get, right? Listen, I don’t care. Get a good one, and when you’re done doing it, I’ll come get that one. We joke all the time about that. I follow in his footsteps, for real.”
