Bruni Tonioli has been announced as the new judge for Britain's Got Talent as he replaces David Walliams.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star will begin filming auditions next week alongside show boss Simon Cowell. Toniolo, 67, was a judge on the BBC ballroom dancing show until 2019 when Anton Du Beke took over the role, before it was officially announced last year the Italian choreographer would not return to Strictly.
The dance pro was forced to step down from his role on Strictly after Covid-19 prevented him from flying over from the US. However, Tonioli remains on the judging panel of the American sister show Dancing With The Stars.
Insiders said they were “thrilled” by the deal, which will be signed and made official in the next few days. “Bruno has all the right experience and his famous exuberance will go down a treat," a source told The Mirror.
They continued: "He and Simon have long hoped to work together so this has proved the perfect opportunity. Everyone’s very excited.”
He will join Simon Cowel, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden on the judging panel. His decision to join the talent show judging panel follows in the footsteps of Alesha Dixon, who was a judge on Strictly for three years after winning the show in 2007.
Bruno and Simon have long tried to dream up a way for him to join BGT. In 2018, Bruno revealed: “I’ve told him to come up with something new and we’ll think about it. We have discussed these things for a number of years but it has never come to anything concrete.”
Chatty Man Alan Carr, who was also considered for the job in a two horse race, will now be lined up for other roles on the channel, having left ITV bosses "hugely impressed".
This comes after David Walliams stepped down from the show after making a series of derogatory comments about contestants. Leaked recordings caught the ex-BGT judge calling an elderly performer on the talent show the C-word three times.
According to a transcript leaked to the Guardian, the children's author also said of a female contestant: "She’s like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them but you don’t."
Filming for Britain’s Got Talent kicks off at the London Palladium on January 24.
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