In November 2025, Dancing with the Stars stunned fans when they announced that Bergeron would be making his grand return as a guest judge — alongside Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough — for the show's 20th anniversary episode on Nov. 11.

In October 2023, Bergeron shared the real turning point that led to his exit. During an appearance on former DWTS pro Cheryl Burke's Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast, he revealed that tensions spiked when they decided to cast former White House press secretary Sean Spicer for season 28, which ran from September to November 2019.

Fans were thrilled to see Bergeron back on the show, splitting duties between being a co-host and a judge on the panel. Bergeron didn't let it get to his head and took the opportunity to celebrate the acclaimed dancing series, as well as get on a soapbox about how the latest episodes prove that this series needs more screen time a week.

During his return as a guest judge, Tom Bergeron looked directly into the camera as he had a special message to ABC, as he said he wanted to talk directly to the network. Bergeron said, “This show is setting ratings records again, so next season, bring back the results show. Let the whole country vote, Let everybody vote.”