Tom Bergeron Denied Returning to ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Days Before Alfonso Ribeiro Was Announced as New Host

usmagazine.com:

A battle over the ballroom? Tom Bergeron was asked about potentially returning to Dancing With the Stars days before Alfonso Ribeiro and Tyra Banks were announced as cohosts for season 31.“Thursday on @GMA, special announcement about @officialdwts.

Hope it’s a new host! @Tom_Bergeron, will you be in NYC??????” a social media user asked the former America’s Funniest Home Videos host, 67, on Tuesday, June 12.

Bergeron quickly shut down the speculation with a simple reply: “Nope. Sorry.”Two days after Bergeron denied returning to the long-running dance competition, Ribeiro, 50, announced that he would be teaming up with Banks, 48, to helm season 31. “Dancing with the Stars has been such an important part of my life for so many years, and I am ecstatic to officially re-join this tight-knit family as cohost,” the season 19 winner and former guest host said in a press release on Thursday, July 14. “Tyra and I have a longstanding friendship that I hope will resonate with all of the fans at home as we kick off this new season on Disney+.Banks, who took over as host in 2020 ahead of season 29, gushed about her new cohost in a statement of her own. “I’ve known Alfonso since I was 19 years old and he always puts a smile on my face whenever I see him,” the former America’s Next Top Model personality said at the time. “Having such a fun-loving, longtime friend as cohost warms my heart.

Bantering back and forth with him live is going to be so much fun!”In July 2020, Bergeron — who began hosting DWTS in 2005 — announced via Twitter that he and cohost Erin Andrews had been ousted from the reality TV series. “Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me,” he wrote at the time, shortly before Banks was named the new host. “It’s