Former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli, who recently confirmed he'd joined the judging panel on Britain's Got Talent, has revealed he was terrified of joining the panel and judging on a show he'd never actually seen before.
Appearing on The One Show on Thursday, April 13, Bruno was quizzed by hosts Alex Jones and Anita Rani over what it was like to join the show - and he soon revealed he'd never actually watched before signing up to be a judge!
"The thing is, I suppose, you're the new boy in this scenario," Alex said. "Because the judges, the other three, have been together for a long time, haven't they?"
"I know," Bruno, who is joining Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Simon Cowell, agreed. "I was petrified. I was really nervous. Because nobody told me, I didn't have any rehearsals, nothing - 'You're on'. Someone said: 'Just do your thing'. Okay, I'll do my thing."
Reflecting on his first day, he revealed a blunder he never knew he wasn't supposed to do - hit the buzzer mid-performance.
"There was this amazing act, that you will see, they were so incredible, I just couldn't wait to get the buzzer. It was 'Whack!' Dancers. I literally went for it. And it was mid-performance," he said.
"The stage exploded with gold and everybody [gasped]. [I thought] what's going on here? Have I done something wrong? - it was actually amazing. But honestly, nobody told me you had to wait until the end of the performance!" For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
Speaking about why he joined the BGT judging panel and how it compares to his first show, Strictly Come Dancing, he told Alex and Anita: "It's completely different! It's like a great big variety show. The range of talent is incredible. You get everything: singers, dancers, acrobats, theatre groups, choirs, magicians... I was like a kid in a sweet shop. 'Oh this is great', 'this is even better', 'oh look at that'. There were some barmy ones as well, I'm telling you!"
The 67-year-old Italian choreographer, whose over-the-top reactions and supportive words of encouragement have made him a household name in the UK, was confirmed as David Walliams' replacement on the talent show in January 2023. Walliams left the ITV programmes judging panel after evidence emerged which unearthed derogatory and disrespectful comments he had made to a number of Britain's Got Talent contestants.
Bruno's move from BBC show to the ITV programme comes after he was replaced on the Strictly Come Dancing panel by former professional dancer Anton Du Beke amid pandemic restrictions which made it difficult for Bruno to attend the live shows in-person.
Confirming his departure in May last year, Tonioli said he would be focusing on his role as a judge on Dancing With The Stars, the American version of Strictly Come Dancing which usually films at the same time of year as Strictly.
At the time, he said: "Here we are, Britain’s Got Talent. I am so excited. It’s my first show, I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I’m sure it’s going to be brilliant!"
Britain's Got Talent begins on ITV1 on Saturday, April 15 at 8pm.
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