Bruno Tonioli talks about landing the job as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent on Alan Carr
Bruno Tonioli, the new judge of Britain’s Got Talent, today offered his condolences to comedian Alan Carr, who had been asked to join the show but lost at the last moment.
Tonioli, a former Strictly Come Dancing judge and a friend of Simon Cowell for three decades, interrupted filming at the London Palladium to shrug: “That’s show business.”
Asked if it would be awkward the next time he meets Alan socially, he said: ‘Not at all. I have had no idea of your negotiations. I love Alan and I know him, he is a very nice guy. I did not know the situation with him, nothing was announced, and that is show. This was due to ITV.
Show: Bruno Tonioli, the new judge of Britain’s Got Talent, has offered his sympathy to comedian Alan Carr, who was approached to join but lost.
He continued: ‘I was away (on vacation, before the offer was made). He is a professional, he knows how things go.
Bruno joined the show on a reported salary of £850,000 after being offered the job just eleven days before filming was due to begin.
He said: “I was in St. Lucia over Christmas and I got a text from Simon’s girlfriend Lauren saying, ‘We should meet up, we’re in Barbados.’ I thought ok, that would be pretty hard to do. I had neither idea that this work existed.
Lost: Tonioli, a former Strictly Come Dancing judge and friend of Simon Cowell for three decades, interrupted filming at the London Palladium to shrug: “That’s show business.”
Lucrative: Tonioli joined the show with a reported salary of £850,000 after being offered the job 11 days before filming began (pictured with Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell)
“Then I arrived in London on the 9th of January and my agent got a call from ITV, and I had no idea what it was. The agent said, “Oh, that’s a big thing,” and I thought, “That’s good.” Then I had a meeting on January 13 with ITV and I thought great, this is fantastic.
‘I’ve known Simon forever, I know the show is on my street. There were no long negotiations, I just said, “Yes, I want to do it.” It happened so fast that I have practically nothing to wear. I’m going to have to go shopping next week when I get to Manchester, I’ve got to make Simon pay.
Filming for the show began Tuesday. Bruno, 67, was recruited to replace David Walliams, who resigned after 10 years following allegations that he had made disparaging comments about contestants caught on a microphone.
Gesture: Bruno was recruited onto the panel to replace David Walliams, who resigned after ten years at BGT, who he says gave him a bottle of wine as a congratulatory gift.
Great reception: The filming of the program began on Tuesday. The BGT audience chanted ‘Bruno, Bruno’ as the newest judge addressed the panel.
Bruno said: ‘David was the first person to send me a text and a fantastic bottle of wine. He is a very good friend.
As for the money, which is said to have sparked protests from Justices Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, he said: “It’s very vulgar to talk about money, but I definitely don’t understand what’s been reported.”
Amanda and Alesha are said to have had pay raises to push their pay above his. Tonioli said: ‘I don’t know what the girls are getting, but good for them, they deserve it all. There is no coldness with the girls, of course not. Who is ice cream? We have been laughing.
‘This is working with a group of colleagues. I’ve known Alesha since Mis-teeq and of course since she was in Strictly. I’ve known Amanda since we met at a small party for Simon’s 50th birthday. We all enjoy and respect each other.’
Salary: Regarding money, which is said to have sparked protests from Justices Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, she said: “It’s very vulgar to talk about money.”
Bruno and Simon have known each other since Simon was the head of Fanfare Records and asked Bruno to choreograph a video for his then girlfriend, Sinitta.
Later they used to meet every week for drinks on the CBS lot: Bruno would be filming Dancing with the Star and Simon was filming American Idol.
Bruno said he doesn’t know how long he’ll want to be on the BGT panel, but added: “This is the biggest show on British television now that I’m here.” I’m serious. Oh, Simon is going to hate that he said that.
‘I have nothing bad to say about Strictly, it changed my life. This is completely different and is a completely different type of judgment.
Previous Job: It comes after it was reported that Bruno would triple the salary he received on Strictly Come Dancing by joining the ITV judging panel.