‘Dancing With the Stars’ Alum Tom Bergeron Reveals His Next Big Project After Exit

Tom Bergeron is embarking on a new endeavor following his abrupt exit from Dancing With the Stars. Just five months after Bergeron confirmed the news of his departure from the hit ABC dancing competition, disgruntling fans, Bergeron on Tuesday revealed that he is currently hard at work on his upcoming novel.

Bergeron shared the exciting news with his more than 200,000 Instagram followers when providing fans with the latest entry of his “Pandemic Diary.” Over the course of the past several months, he said, he has successfully managed to “hit the 10,000-word mark on the novel I’m writing.” Bergeron, who also quipped that it was time to “get off my butt and hit 10,000 steps. Only about 9060 to go,” did not provide any details about the upcoming project. Fans will likely have to wait a little while longer to get a copy of the book, though, as he said, “only about 70,000 words to go.”

Bergeron’s new venture comes just months after it was confirmed he would not be returning to host the recently-aired DWTS Season 29. Although he held the position since the show’s inception back in 2005, after 28 seasons, he revealed in July that he had been informed the competition “will be continuing without me.” Bergeron’s co-host, Erin Andrews, was also booted from the series, with ABC later explaining that they made the decision to part ways with the two hosts as DWTS was looking to “embark on a new creative direction.” In their place, reality TV alum Tyra Banks took over.

Banks’ debut on the show was met with mixed reactions from viewers, some of whom continued to call for the reinstatement of Bergeron and Andrews throughout the entirety of Season 29, which saw Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe and pro dancer Artem Chigvintsev crowned victors. Bergeron, however, dashed those hopes when opening up about the possibility of his return in a recent interview with TV Guide Magazine.

“When people say, ‘I’m not gonna watch until you’re back,’ I say, ‘Well, there’s really no ‘until’ here,’” Bergeron said. “This train has left the station. “I appreciate the sentiment. [But] I don’t hold it against anybody if they [watch].”

While fans may still be upset about his DWTS absence, they are certainly excited for his book. In the comments section of his Monday post, followers applauded the venture and expressed their eagerness to get their hands on a copy once it is available, with one person writing, “a book by you is one I’d definitely want to read!”