Tyra Banks is ready to take on Dancing With the Stars! The newly anointed host of ABC’s long-running competition series appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday and teased what fans can expect when she takes the reins from Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews.
“It is gonna be so next level. I am having meetings with the producer that I walked in to join, Andrew Llinares, and… he’s like, ‘Tyra, you just don’t know. It’s gonna be next level,'” she said. “We’re doing all this crazy stuff, taking to the next level, but still keeping the stuff that we know America loves. But you need to get ready, ’cause it’s gonna be different.”
Banks, 46, expressed her excitement over both hosting and executive producing the series, before gushing over the chance to appear on live TV.
“You never know what happens on live TV,” she said. “Like right now, my phone literally just rang and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m about to be on live TV.’ So [I’m] excited about all of that.”
Banks’ casting makes her the first solo DWTS host, which is just another one of her many firsts.
“I like breaking those doors down, so that we don’t have anymore firsts,” said Banks, who has hosted America’s Next Top Model and America’s Got Talent. “But it’s nice to be first, right? So you can open that door and let so many people in after you. I’m excited!”
As for what she expects from the contestants, Banks joked that she’d like to see her signature smize used.
“It’s gonna be required!” she quipped. “No, I’m joking. It’s not gonna be required.”
“However, I think there’s something like a whip and smize,” she said while flipping her head and gazing at the camera. “We need to see who’s going to be able to whip and smize.”
When it comes to possible contestants on the show, Banks remained tight-lipped, even saying that she “cannot confirm or deny” whether or not Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was approached to compete.
“I don’t know if he would do this right now. But I can imagine, once we have our cure, once we have our vaccine, I don’t know, he might have to come on and do a little cha-cha-cha to celebrate,” she said of Fauci possibly competing once there’s a cure for COVID-19.
Banks’ casting was announced on Tuesday, just days after Bergeron and Andrews departed the show.
“I’ve been a fan of Dancing With the Stars since its beginning,” she said in a statement to 360aproko. “The fun mixed with raw emotion, seeing celebrities push past their comfort zones, the sizzling dance performances… it’s always transported me to my days of turning it up 10 notches on the catwalk.”
“Tom has set a powerful stage,” she added. “I’m excited to continue the legacy and put on my executive producer and hosting hats.”
