‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Peta Murgatroyd ‘Shocked and Sad’ About Tom Bergeron, Erin Andrews’ Firings

Dancing With the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd was completely surprised at the news that longtime hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews wouldn’t be returning to the ABC ballroom, she admitted to Us Weekly. Before Bergeron and Andrews’ exit was confirmed ahead of Season 29, Murgatroyd said she and the other pros got a Zoom call informing them of the change in the show.

“To be honest, I was shocked. I was sad,” Murgatroyd told the outlet. “I was sad that chapter of the show is done, and it made me emotional on the call.” Particularly shocking for her was news of Bergeron being pushed out after 15 years as the original host. “Like he is the show,” she explained. “I’m not disregarding [Erin]. She’s been incredible and an amazing host and somebody who had been through the show before with my husband, Maks [Chmerkovskiy]. The way that she gave insight into celebrities and she could relate to them, I think really took the show to another level.”

That doesn’t mean she isn’t on board for a “fresh start.” The professional dancer said she was sure new host Tyra Banks would be “amazing” when it comes to taking over the reins. “I’m excited to see what she brings to the show and an incredible name,” she said, noting that when she first met Banks while dancing with America’s Next Top Model alum Nyle DiMarco, the supermodel was “lovely.”

As the show gets ready to return amid the coronavirus pandemic, Murgatroyd said testing procedures are “very, very strict” with temperature checks every day and COVID-19 testing about every two days. The pro detailed, “They’re expecting us to do some sort of quarantine, not go to Vegas on a trip, not do the regular things that we might normally do.” It’s more to ask of the contestants and their pros than usual, but Murgatroyd is on board if it means being able to put out a season this fall.

“I think we need this positivity to come back into America and I think we need the show,” she said. “I mean, people love it and people are at home right now, kind of doing nothing. So why not bring it back, give it a go. If we don’t succeed, we don’t succeed.” Dancing With the Stars is set to return to ABC in the fall, but no premiere date has been announced at this time.