Craig Revel Horwood has said former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli would bring “energy back on the telly” as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent.
The 67-year-old Italian dancer and choreographer joined the BBC One dancing competition during its debut series but formally left the show as a judge last year because his travel commitments had made it “impossible” to continue.
It has been widely reported that Tonioli is set to replace comedian David Walliams as a judge on the ITV talent show, who is said to be leaving the show after 10 years as a judge alongside Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden, having first joined the panel in 2012.
The reports of his departure came after Walliams apologised for making “disrespectful comments” about contestants during breaks in filming the popular show. However, Walliams’ exit and the official 2023 judging line-up have yet to be confirmed by Britain’s Got Talent.
Tonioli joined Strictly during its launch in 2004 alongside the original judges Dame Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman and Revel Horwood.
Speaking about Tonioli reportedly joining the Britain’s Got Talent judging panel, 58-year-old Revel Horwood told Good Morning Britain presenters and former Strictly Come Dancing alumni Susanna Reid and Ed Balls: “I would love to say he is but I believe he’s up against Alan Carr as well so I think they’re juggling and they’re going to save it as a surprise, so I in fact don’t know.
“And Bruno is very secretive with me, darling, so he will never be honest with me or tell me the truth. So I really don’t know.
“But I would love to see Bruno back on our screens and I think it’s a great position to have so I wish him all the very best if he is in the running for it because I think he’d be wonderful to get that energy back on the telly.”
In 2020, pandemic travel uncertainty meant Tonioli could only appear via video-link to give his verdict on the Strictly performances during the Sunday night results show. And in 2021 he was replaced by long-standing professional dancer Anton Du Beke, who joined the panel alongside Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas.
Announcing his departure in May last year, Tonioli said he would instead be concentrating on his other role as a judge on Dancing With The Stars, which films around the same time of year in the US.