Dancing With the Stars Eliminates Fan Favorite on 20th Anniversary

Dancing With the Stars‘ 20th birthday was not so happy for Andy Richter and Emma Slater.

On the November 11th episode of the ABC dance competition, the couple was eliminated, becoming the eighth pair to leave season 34.

But for Andy, he feels “like a winner” regardless of the elimination.

The 59-year-old, standing with Emma, shared that the show and Emma herself had profoundly changed his life. He said he was a completely different person now, and credited her with making it all possible, explaining she understood how to bring out the best in him.

Andy added, “It was just TikToks and dancing and it exploded. It’s crazy.”

During the show, the couple performed the quickstep to Robbie Williams’ “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and earned a score of 29.

With just two episodes left, Alix Earle, Elaine Hendrix, Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron, Whitney Leavitt, and Robert Irwin are the final six contestants competing in the semi-finals on November 18th.

As a long-time fan, it was definitely a tough watch seeing Andy and Emma go through so much sadness in the latest episode. But the anniversary special was also really wonderful! It wasn’t all doom and gloom, and it was amazing to see some old friends return – it felt like coming home.

As a longtime fan, I was so thrilled to see Tom Bergeron back with Dancing with the Stars! After leaving after season 28 in 2019, he returned as a guest judge, joining the wonderful Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Derek Hough at the judges’ table. It was fantastic to have him back in the DWTS family!

Bergeron said he decided to come back to the show because of Conrad Green, the showrunner, who encouraged him after a difficult departure.

“He really kind of extended the olive branch,” the 70-year-old explained, “and got me reminiscing about all the fond memories.”

Besides Bergeron, all six of the show’s original professional dancers—Edyta Sliwinska, Ashly DelGrosso, Louis van Amstel, Jonathan Roberts, Charlotte Jørgensen, and champion Alec Mazo—also joined the celebration. They performed in an opening number choreographed by Derek, set to a new live arrangement of the Dancing with the Stars theme song by Ray Chew.

It’s not just Bergeron and the original cast members from the 20th Birthday Party who’ve returned this season. Dance professionals Kym Johnson-Herjavec and Cheryl Burke also appeared as guest judges.

“It’s wonderful to be back!” said Cheryl, who has won the Mirrorball Trophy twice, during the Halloween episode on October 28th.

Before we meet the new champion, let’s revisit all the celebrities who competed for the title on season 34 of Dancing with the Stars…