“It’s the biggest show on TV!” New Britain’s Got Talent judge Bruno Tonioli “takes a dig at his former Strictly Come Dancing co-stars – but admits the BBC show “changed his life”
Bruno Tonioli took a dig at his former Strictly Come Dancing co-stars on Saturday night’s episode of BGT.
The new Britain’s Got Talent judge, 67, who swapped the BBC ballroom show for the ITV competition, praised his new peers: Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden.
But in doing so, he dismissed his former Strictly co-stars — including Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse — as somewhat inferior.
Bruno told the BGT audience, “They say you’re only as good as the people you work with, and those people are the best.”
When previously asked if BGT was bigger than Strictly, the cheeky star replied, “It’s the biggest show on TV – I’m serious, here I am!”
Oops: Bruno Tonioli, 67, took a dig at his former Strictly Come Dancing co-stars on Saturday night’s episode of Britain’s Got Talent
Yikes: He kind of dismissed his former Strictly co-stars — including Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse — as inferior
Oh! Bruno told the BGT audience, “They say you’re only as good as the people you work with, and those people are the best” by Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden
“It’s the biggest show on British television now that I’m here,” he told press after his debut, but added that Strictly “changed his life.”
Bruno starred in Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 to 2019, with Anton Du Beke deputizing for him during the COVID-19 pandemic before deputizing for him for good in 2022.
He then replaced former BGT panelist David Walliams, 51, on this series’ panel after the comedian made sexual remarks towards the panelists last year and apologized for them before stepping down from the show.
Bruno’s latest comments come just a month after Simon Cowell, 63, called Strictly Come Dancing “boring” when discussing Bruno’s performance on the BGT jury.
The music mogul said he feels his new fellow judge is having a much better time on the show because of the format.
Comparing Britain’s Got Talent to the celebrity dance competition show, he said, “When you do Strictly, you just have a bat or something, don’t you?” It’s boring.
“This is a punctuation mark that represents the red buzzer.” He was like a kid who had to press when judging these things. I think he found the whole process easier when he had these.
Former co-stars: Bruno starred in Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 to 2019, with Anton Du Beke filling in for him during the COVID-19 era before finally 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
“I guess he probably wishes he had a red buzzer on Strictly. I bet there are a few celebrities he would have liked to have blown away.’
Bruno has previously joked that he got carried away early in filming for BGT because of the golden buzzer that sends an act straight into the live shows.
Each year judges Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno receive a golden buzzer, and the same goes for presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, who can press it if they are impressed by a particular performance