Former ‘DWTS’ Host Samantha Harris Tells Cheryl Burke About Leaving the Show
Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Reading Time: 2 minutes
Former Dancing with the Stars co-host Samantha Harris was recently a guest on Cheryl Burke’s Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast. Harris opened up about her departure from the show after Season 9, and how people involved with the show critiqued her appearance.
Former DWTS Host Samantha Harris Opens Up About Departure
Harris joined the show as a co-host alongside Tom Bergeron in Season 2. After Season 9, Harris told Burke that she got a call from DWTS executive producer Conrad Green breaking the news that she wouldn’t be invited back for another season.
Harris called hosting the show her “dream job.” She chose to tell fans that she was leaving the show to focus more on her job at Entertainment Tonight. In reality, Green told Harris that network executives had “decided they need something to look different on the show … to keep eyeballs watching.”
Burke admitted that she was disappointed when Harris announced her departure from the show, and she thanked the former host for sharing the true story of how it happened. She said it would probably give a lot of fans closure as well.
SEE ALSO: TOM BERGERON CLARIFIES THAT HIS ‘DWTS’ BALLROOM DAYS ARE DEFINITELY OVER
The Show Criticized Harris’ Appearance
The former co-host also mentioned a moment when she was told by unnamed people involved in the show that she was “getting too tan and too toned,” which supposedly caused viewers to confuse her with the dancers. Harris said, “Usually you’re told to lose weight. I was actually told to gain weight.”
Little did they know, Harris was pregnant at the time, so she would be gaining weight and cutting back on the tanning anyway. She also shared that after she announced her pregnancy, Hollywood “vultures” were trying to get their clients to replace her as co-host.
Her daughter ended up being born two weeks early, the night before the Season 4 premiere. Harris recalled watching the premiere from the hospital bed. She said she was “so grateful” that former champion Drew Lachey was chosen to fill in for her during her maternity leave.
