Brooke Burke, the former host of Dancing With the Stars, will not be back in the ballroom for the show’s 20th anniversary special after she left in 2014.
Burke, age 54, shared the reason she won’t be at the highly awaited event on the Tuesday, November 4, episode of Jennie Garth’s “I Choose Me” podcast.
“It’s difficult for me to do something again,” Burke shared with Garth, 53, who was also a contestant. “I think there are some experiences in life worth reliving, but I feel like I exhausted it and accomplished everything I wanted on that show.”
Burke mentioned that despite the “amazing relationships” she developed while on DWTS as a competitor and cohost, she ultimately believes her time on the show is in the past. “It was among the most-watched programs on television. It would be difficult to return with the same degree of excitement and gratitude,” she stated.
Garth joked that she also “received an email” regarding the special, which airs November 11, but she “intentionally did not read” it.
Burke and Garth both had former pro Derek Hough as their partner during their respective seasons. Garth finished fourth in season 5 in 2007, which was Hough’s first season, while Burke and Hough won the mirrorball two seasons later. Burke later cohosted the show alongside Tom Bergeron from seasons 10 through 17.
“I never say no and never close doors professionally, but I mean, it lasted eight seasons, and I accomplished everything I needed to in the ballroom,” Burke continued, adding that she “had so much fun” on DWTS despite the fact that it was “among the hardest things I’ve ever done in my entire life.”
This isn’t the first instance of Burke discussing her departure from DWTS. She discussed her dismissal from the show on a 2024 episode of Getting Grilled With Curtis Stone, revealing that while she was “ready to pursue other endeavors” at the time, she was “disappointed” to learn she wouldn’t be asked to return.
She continued, “But I think it’s surprising when there’s a change in our line of work, just to humanize it, to be honest, to be vulnerable. I think it was truly disappointing. I wasn’t prepared for it.”
Burke stated that there were a “number of reasons on both sides” for why she was “let go.”
Shortly after the news broke in 2014, Burke went into detail on her Modern Mom blog regarding how she found out she wouldn’t be returning for season 18.
She wrote, “The only surprising aspect for me was how it all transpired,” adding that she found out “just weeks” before the premiere. “I would have liked a heads-up and the politeness of communication, but we are not always fortunate enough to receive that in the workplace.”
She also talked about how challenging it was to explain to her children, who didn’t understand the distinction between being dismissed and being fired. (Burke and exes Garth Fisher and David Charet share children Neriah, 24, Sierra, 22, Heaven, 18, and Shaya, 16.)
“My son yelled, ‘You got fired, Mommy?!’” she recalled her son Shaya asking her. “I made an effort to describe the distinction between being fired and being let go. Then he shouted, ‘You quit!’ I laughed at the narrow line that separated them. Then, I did my best to explain the reality of change to my children and the necessity of navigating it with grace.”
Over the years, Burke is not the only DWTS cohost who has been requested to leave the ballroom. In July 2020, viewers were taken aback when Bergeron, the original emcee, revealed that he and Erin Andrews, the then-cohost, would not be returning for season 29.
Bergeron wrote on X at the time, “Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me. It’s been a fantastic 15-year run and the most unexpected gift of my career. I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made. Having said that, what am I supposed to do with all of these glitter masks now?”
He later made an appearance on an October 2023 episode of Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast to talk about his departure, claiming that his desire to keep politics out of the ballroom was partly to blame. (Bergeron had previously been outspoken about Sean Spicer’s casting in season 28.)
He added, “I’m sure they’ll give you a different reason [as to why I was fired],” noting that he would “never” return as host. “It’s not the same show. It’s not the same world. There’s no point. What would I prove? Let the show either exist with the fresh talent it has now or die a natural death.”
Dancing With the Stars’ 20th Birthday Special will broadcast on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesday, November 11, at 8 p.m. ET. The following day, it will be available to stream on Hulu.
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