Brooke Burke is reflecting on her time as co-host on Dancing With the Stars, saying it was both shocking and disappointing to be fired from the iconic dance competition show.
The 52-year-old former Mirrorball Trophy winner and host of the ABC franchise expressed the sentiment in the video podcast, Getting Grilled with Curtis Stone. Burke opened up about how she landed the role in season 10 before her departure in 2014 ahead of season 18.
Burke shared that everyone under the sun auditioned for the coveted role of co-host, from country stars and seasoned hosts on other TV shows. She ultimately landed the role, which she said was “an amazing experience” and one that made her feel like “a princess every day” because she got to dress up for the role.
“It was a good ride,” she added.
Stone then wondered what it was like leaving the show.
“Getting fired, you mean?” Burke shot back laughing.
And when asked if by that point she had had enough of the show, Burke said yes and no.
“It’s a really good question. I probably had enough, but then when you leave something and you think you’ve had enough, you kind of, in hindsight, look back and want a little bit more. As a host, when you’re on a live show, it was a long time and I think I was ready to do other things,” she explained. “But I think it’s shocking when there’s a change in our business, just to humanize it, to be honest, to be vulnerable. I think it was really disappointing. I wasn’t expecting it, not that we can ever have a plan in Hollywood, ’cause you know we can’t. Things change like that for a variety of reasons. It was for sure time for a number of reasons on both sides, but, yeah, I think that kind of changes. It’s always a bummer.”
Burke won the Mirrorball Trophy in 2008 with Derek Hough, and she returned to the long-running ABC show as co-host in 2010. In that time, Burke co-hosted alongside Tom Bergeron, who himself was fired ahead of the show’s 29th season following a 15-year run that began in 2005.
Nevertheless, Burke says she’ll forever admire her former co-host for a number of reasons.
“He was an amazing host. He was a great co-host. He’s so brilliant. So funny. so freaking smart. And I always give him credit because he was one of those men that really knows how to be a partner,” she said. “No ego, at all. He’s flawless, in my opinion. But he always welcomed me and made space for me. And he was a great partner. And not everybody knows how to do that, especially in our town.”
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