Bruno Tonioli has broken his silence on his Britain's Got Talent judging role, admitting that he was "emotional and nervous" as he attended his very first audition today.
It comes after The Mirror revealed that that the former Strictly judge would be replacing David Walliams and sit beside close pal and show boss Simon Cowell.
Introducing him at the London Palladium via Rocky soundtrack Eye of the Tiger, host Declan Donnelly said: "We’re so excited to be back! We’ve got a bit of a change this year, a brand new judge on the panel!"
"I am thrilled to be here, look at these girls, they’re stunning," Bruno gushed as he gestured over to fellow judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon. "And my old friend Simon, what an honour it is to work with you, finally. He’s teased me with this for years and years, I tell you. I’m thrilled to finally be here. I’m very emotional and I’m very, very nervous."
Alesha quipped: "I think you should have a go at pushing the buzzer, welcome to the show!"
After pressing the buzzer, Bruno grinned as he said: "Oh, that was easy! I love that!"
Bruno is expected to triple his Strictly salary in the major ITV deal by netting a reported £850,000 for his time on the show.
A source previously told the Mirror that bosses were "thrilled" to have Bruno on the show as he has "all the right experience and his famous exuberance will go down a treat".
Bruno is still continuing to judge on the US version of Strictly, Dancing With The Stars, which he will film in the Autumn.
He previously appeared on Strictly for 17 series from 2004, until he was prevented flying over in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. For a year, he appeared via video link on the Sunday show, but he has since been replaced by pro Anton Du Beke on the panel.
It comes after David Walliams quit Britain's Got Talent last year after 10 years on the ITV show.
An insider said at the time: "David has decided to bow out after a ten-year run. He wants to leave on a high after a wonderful time. Being on the show has been a huge source of entertainment and joy for him and he is arguably the most popular member of the panel."
Earlier in the year, David was forced to apologise after comments he made about contestants on the ITV show were leaked. A leaked transcript from the ITV show saw that David made crude references about one woman and called a pensioner a 'c***' during filming for Britain's Got Talent back in 2020. David apologised for making 'disrespectful comments', which were made during filming breaks.
*Britain's Got Talent returns later this year on ITV
