New BGT judge Bruno Tonioli takes a swipe at his former Strictly co-stars
New Britain’s Got Talent judge Bruno Tonioli lashes out at his former Strictly Come Dancing colleagues
Bruno Tonioli took a swipe at his former Strictly Come Dancing co-stars, on Saturday night’s episode of BGT.
The new Britain’s Got Talent jury, 67, who moved from the BBC ballroom show to the ITV competition, praised his new colleagues: Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden.
But in doing so, he somewhat dismissed his former Strictly co-stars β including Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, and Motsi Mabuse β as less than.
Bruno told the BGT audience, “They say you’re only as good as the people you work with, and these people are the best.”
Previously, when asked if BGT was bigger than Strictly, the sassy star replied, “This is the biggest show on TV – I mean it, it’s now that I’m here!”
Yikes: Bruno Tonioli, 67, lashed out at his former Strictly Come Dancing co-stars, on Saturday night’s episode of Britain’s Got Talent
Yikes: He somewhat dismissed his former Strictly co-stars β including Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, and Motsi Mabuse β as less than
Oh! Bruno told the BGT audience, ‘They say you’re only as good as the people you work with, and these people are the best’ by Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden
“This is the biggest show on British TV now that I’m here,” he told the press after his debut, but added that Strictly had “changed his life.”
Bruno starred in Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 to 2019, Anton Du Beke replaced him as a judge during the COVID-19 pandemic before permanently replacing him in 2022.
He then replaced former BGT panelist David Walliams, 51, on this series’ panel after the comedian made sexual comments to contestants last year, for which he apologized before leaving the show.
Bruno’s latest comments come just a month after Simon Cowell, 63, branded Strictly Come Dancing ‘boring’ when discussing Bruno’s appearance on the BGT jury.
The music mogul said he felt his new fellow judge had a much better time on their show because of the format.
He compared Britain’s Got Talent to the celebrity dance competition show, saying, “When you do Strictly, all you have is a bat or something, right? That is boring.
βThis is a punctuation mark, that’s the red buzzer. He was like a child who had to push these things while he was judging. I think he found the whole process was easier when he had it.
Former co-stars: Bruno starred in Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 to 2019, Anton Du Beke replaced him during the COVID-19 era before permanently replacing him in 2022
New colleagues: Bruno replaced David Walliams on the ITV reality show and now judges alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon
βI think he probably wished he had a red buzzer. There are some celebrities he would have loved to greet, I bet.’
Bruno previously joked that he got carried away when filming started for BGT because of the golden buzzer, which directs an act straight to the live shows.
Each year, judges Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno are given a golden buzzer, as are presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, who can press it if they are impressed with a particular act.