Tom Bergeron exits ‘Dancing With the Stars’

NEW YORK (AP) — The dance has ended for “Dancing With the Stars” host Tom Bergeron — a Massachusetts native and longtime broadcaster — and his co-host Erin Andrews.

ABC said in a statement that the show is looking to “embark on a new creative direction” and host Bergeron “departs the show with our sincerest thanks and gratitude for his trademark wit and charm that helped make this show a success.”

Bergeron has hosted “Dancing With the Stars” since its premiere in 2005.

He took to Twitter to announce his departure. “It’s been an incredible 15-year run and the most unexpected gift of my career,” he wrote. “I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made.”

Last year, Bergeron made waves when he expressed his unhappiness that former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was among the contestants for the fall season.

Bergeron tweeted that he earlier told producers he hoped the new season would be a “joyful respite from our exhausting political climate” and urged them not have any “divisive bookings.” Producers apparently disagreed. “We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call,” Bergeron wrote.

Bergeron, a member of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, started his career at 1490/WHAV in his hometown of Haverhill in the 1970s, before moving to WBZ-TV. He went on to host “Hollywood Squares” and “America’s Funniest Videos” before being named the first host of “Dancing With The Stars.”

Bergeron was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program nine times for the show, winning once, in 2012.

The finale of last year’s season — No. 28 — ended with Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten taking the trophy but scored a new low in total viewers among the show’s previous finales. Still, the show was the most watched program on broadcast television with 7.7 million total viewers.

The network on Monday also said farewell to Andrews, the ESPN sportscaster and “Good Morning America” contributor who originally competed as a contestant back in 2010 and returned as co-host in 2014. “Her signature sense of humor has become a hallmark of the show,” the statement read.