Tyra Banks Will Host 'Dancing With The Stars' & I'm Ready To Smize

For the entirety of Dancing with the Stars' 15-year run, Tom Bergeron served as its ever-present host and commentator, but the reality competition series is seriously shaking things up for its upcoming season. Shortly after ABC made the surprising decision to continue the show without Bergeron or his co-host Erin Andrews, the network revealed the superstar who will be taking their places. Tyra Banks will host Dancing with the Stars from now on, ABC announced on Tuesday, July 14, so get ready for the dancing competition to have some added supermodel flair.

Banks was announced as the new Dancing with the Stars host the day after ABC made the surprising announcement the series would move in a "new creative direction" without Bergeron or Andrews on Monday, July 13. Bergeron has hosted all 28 seasons of the series since its inception in 2005, and Andrews has been his co-host since Season 18 in 2014. It's unclear why, specifically, the network decided to replace the two long-running TV hosts, or if this new creative direction will involve any format changes to the series. The latter seems possible, since Banks has also signed on as an executive producer as well as the new host.

Bergeron implied his departure from Dancing with the Stars came as a surprise to him, tweeting on Monday that he was "just informed" of the show continuing on without him. Andrews also posted a statement thanking the network, series, and Bergeron for her past six years as a host.

Banks, of course, is a veteran television host, who is best known for helming her modeling competition series America's Next Top Model since 2003 and hosting her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show, from 2005 to 2010. She released a statement expressing her love of Dancing with the Stars and her excitement to be a part of the show:

I’ve been a fan of DWTS since its beginning. 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, and I’m excited to continue the legacy and put on my executive producer and hosting hats.

Banks' hosting duties will begin when Season 29 of Dancing with the Stars kicks off this fall on ABC.