Alfonso Ribeiro knows a thing or two about following in Tom Bergeron’s footsteps. In 2015 when Tom retired from America’s Funniest Home Videos, Alfonso signed on as his replacement. Now, a few years after Tom’s unceremonious exit as the Dancing with the Stars host, Alfonso is joining the show to co-host alongside Tyra Banks.
Although it’s a little unusual for Alfonso to inherit not one but two of Tom’s former gigs, it sounds like there’s no shade between the two TV personalities. Ahead of the season 31 DWTS premiere, Alfonso revealed to Us Weekly that he’s been in touch with Tom and gave him a respectful heads up about his new role.
“We have talked,” Alfonso shared with the outlet. “I wouldn’t say that he gave advice because [it would be] essentially the same advice he offered me when I was doing American’s Funniest Videos, which was ‘Be you,'”
That’s some pretty sound advice, and it seems like being Alfonso is what helped him land the DWTS gig in the first place. In the interview, Alfonso reflected on how he got the co-hosting job, and it seems like the Dancing with the Stars team had him in mind.
“I had no clue what was coming,” Alfonso said of the phone call he got from Dancing with the Stars producers. . “All of a sudden, I’m on a road trip in my RV somewhere on the east coast, and I get a phone call saying, ‘Hey, can you hop on a call tomorrow morning? We want to talk about you being one of our hosts.’ And I was [ready to say] ‘OK.’ There was no hesitation. It was a very simple yes.”
RELATED: Cheryl Burke Would “Love Tom Bergeron” To Return To Dancing With The Stars; Says That Doesn’t Mean “I Don’t Want Tyra Banks There”
It was easy for Alfonso to accept the co-hosting gig on Dancing with the Stars, and the fact that he is real-life friends with Tyra made the decision even easier. Still, he knew he needed to reach out to Tom to give him a heads up. He didn’t want Tom to be blindsided by the news.
Alfonso said, “We have enough respect for each other that I wanted to talk to him as a friend. I wanted to let him know how it went down [with] all the love and respect that I have for Tom.”
RELATED: Tom Bergeron Reacts To Alfonso Ribeiro Landing Job As Dancing With The Stars Co-Host
With that said, Alfonso does recognize how unusual it is to take over two of the biggest jobs in Tom’s career. He’s probably looking at Tom’s IMDb page right now to figure out a third.
“He will always be near and dear to my heart in every way. I continue to say that I’m building my career on what Tom Bergeron leaves behind,” Alfonso said. “I keep joking with him about it. I’m like, ‘Dude, I need you to get something big because then that’s my next job.’
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED AT ALFONSO AND TOM’S POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP? DO YOU THINK ALFONSO WILL BE A GOOD FIT FOR HOSTING DWTS?
[Photo Credit: RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images]
