Bruno Tonioli Breaks Silence On Rumours He And Alan Carr Were Both In Running For BGT Role

Bruno Tonioli has spoken for the first time about rumours that he and Alan Carr were both being considered for a judging role on the new series of Britain’s Got Talent.

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Bruno had landed a spot on the BGT panel, replacing David Walliams, who has now left the show after 10 series.

However, prior to the Italian dancer’s appointment, it had previously been reported in the tabloid press that Alan was being eyed for the role.

Speaking to The Sun, the former Strictly Come Dancing judge insisted it “won’t be awkward at all” between himself and Alan when they next cross paths.

Alan Carr
Alan Carr

David M. Benett via Getty Images

“I haven’t had a clue about his negotiations,” Bruno told the newspaper.“I love Alan and I know him, he is a very nice guy.

“I didn’t know the situation with him, nothing was announced, and that’s show business. This was down to ITV — and I just said yes to the job when it was offered.”

Bruno added: “He’s a professional, he knows how things go.”

Meanwhile, Bruno also spoke about how he came to the land the job in the first place.

“I was actually on holiday and I got a text message from Simon’s girlfriend,” Bruno said.

“We’ve been friends for a long time, me and Simon, and she suggested we all get together. I had no idea this job was around.

“I arrived in London on the ninth of January and my agent had a call from ITV. I had no idea what it was about other than he said, ‘oh its something very big’ and I thought ‘that’s good’.

“Then I had a meeting on the 13th with ITV and I thought great, this is fantastic.”

The new-look Britain's Got Talent panel
The new-look Britain’s Got Talent panel

Karwai Tang via Getty Images

Bruno continued: “There were no long negotiations, I just said ‘yes, I want to do it’.

“It happened so fast that I have practically nothing to wear. I am going to have to go shopping next week when I get to Manchester, I must make Simon pay . . . actually he’s teased me about joining for years and then never offered me the job, so I still didn’t believe it until it finally happened.”

Earlier this week, it had been reported there was some “upset” among members of the panel over Bruno’s supposed BGT salary, although a rep insisted this was not the case.

Britain’s Got Talent will return to ITV for its 16th series later this year.

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Piers Morgan Tries To Reignite Feud With ‘Sycophantic’ David Walliams: ‘He’s Sooo Creepy’

Piers Morgan has attempted to reignite his feud with David Walliams, labelling the Britain’s Got Talent judge “sycophantic” and “creepy”.

Piers, who used to sit on the judging panel of the ITV talent show from 2007 until 2010, didn’t hold back following the latest episode.

The TalkTV presenter has previously described David as a “treacherous piece of work” and “a snivelling today”, and he couldn’t resist having yet another dig at the former Little Britain star on Saturday night.

“Love the judging panel on @BGT – apart from David Walliams,” he wrote.

“All he does is drip & drool unctuously sycophantic drivel, and he’s soooooo creepy.”

It’s Piers’ latest attempt to try and get a rise out of David, who has kept his opinion about Piers (mostly) to himself.

Back in 2019, Piers called out the comedian and author after he liked a tweet that referenced the fake war torture pictures published in the Mirror that led to Piers losing his job as the editor of the newspaper in 2004.

Sharing a screen grab of the tweet liked by David and actress Amanda Abbington, Piers wrote: “Amusing that ⁦@davidwalliams⁩ regularly ‘likes’ the nastiest tweets about me, yet is such a snivelling toady to my face. It’s not my fault ⁦@BGT⁩ ratings were so much higher when I was in your chair Dave!”

Although David never responded, his former Little Britain co-star Matt Lucas jumped to his defence.

Matt tweeted at the time: “Purely objectively – 1) He was probably being polite. Some people are. 2) Boasting about the BGT ratings and popularity when you were briefly on it to someone who has not only transformed the show but is consistently the biggest-selling author in the country didn’t work.”

Meanwhile, BGT bosses have defended the acts on this year’s series, after it was revealed that around a quarter of them are professional performers or already have links to the show.

The show has faced criticism from viewers after it was discovered that many of the 60 competitors who have taken to the stage have a professional profile or have already appeared on other talent shows, including international versions of BGT.

Responding to the latest criticism, an ITV spokesperson told The Sun: “All acts enter the competition with the hope of elevating their career to the highest level and help to reach massive new audiences which Britain’s Got Talent brings in.

“As we’re all aware, the pandemic affected so many lives, particularly those that work in the entertainment industry, and it is wrong to deny these people the opportunity to showcase their talents and entertain the nation, and ultimately perform in front of royalty at the Royal Variety Performance.

“As has always been the case, Britain’s Got Talent is open to everyone.”

Britain’s Got Talent continues this Saturday at 8pm on ITV and the ITV Hub.

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