Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is a British-Italian television personality, choreographer and dancer. He has judged on the British television talent shows ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' (2004–2019), ''

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'' (2007) and ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' (2023–present), and the American television talent shows ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' (2005–present) and '' Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann'' (2008).

Career

In 1980, as part of the group Duke and the Aces, Tonioli performed in but did not win the United Kingdom's competition to select an entry for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. Tonioli has worked in the music business as a choreographer for music videos, stage shows, and tours for artists such as

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, Sting,

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Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...

Sinitta Sinitta Malone known mononymously as Sinitta, is a British-American singer. She initially found commercial success in the mid-1980s with the single " So Macho" and had several other hits during the decade. In the 2000s, she became known for te ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

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, and

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. He danced in the Elton John video for " I'm Still Standing" (1983). Tonioli choreographed the band Arcadia's music video for their song "

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

", as documented in a 1980s documentary entitled ''The Making of Election Day''. He was

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's choreographer in the film ''

Ella Enchanted ''Ella Enchanted'' is a fantasy novel written by Gail Carson Levine and published in 1997. The story is a retelling of ''Cinderella'' featuring various mythical creatures including fairies, elves, ogres, gnomes, and giants. The book won a Newb ...

'' (2004). In November 2016, Tonioli lent his name to an album released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

entitled ''An Italian Romance'', a compilation of Italian songs by various artists selected by Tonioli. In November 2018, Tonioli presented the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

series ''Bruno Tonioli at the Opera''. In October 2022, Tonioli competed in the second series of '' The Masked Dancer'' as Pearly King, placing third behind Australian actor

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(second place) and American actress and dancer Heather Morris (winner). In January 2023, it was announced that Tonioli would be joining the judging panel for series 16 of the British talent show ''

'', replacing

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...

. Tonioli was the first to use the Golden Buzzer, doing so for Ugandan dance group Ghetto Kids. However, not knowing the rules of the show, he mistakenly pressed it during the performance instead of waiting until the end, as had been the case since the Golden Buzzer was introduced in 2014. Tonioli then went on to break the rules by pressing it again in the sixth episode, this time for singer Gamal John, who made history as the first ever golden buzzer act to not have the gold confetti fall on him. This had never been done in the show's history, as usually a judge only gets one use of the Golden Buzzer. Nevertheless, it still counted.

''Strictly Come Dancing'' and ''Dancing with the Stars''

In 2004, Tonioli was selected to be a judge on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

'', along with

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, and head judge

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. In 2005, he was then chosen to be a judge on ''

'', along with Goodman and Carrie Ann Inaba, where he, along with Inaba, has remained since. For one week during both series 16 and series 17 of ''Strictly Come Dancing'', he was replaced by guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro, due to a broadcasting conflict between the two shows. In addition, Tonioli was also involved in the

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talent competition '' Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann''. Tonioli quickly became known for his commentary style, often getting out of his chair and physically describing a performance, using colourful descriptives. As examples, during his time with the U.S. ''Dancing With the Stars'', Tonioli called Cheetah Girl

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"a little lynx on the prowl" and labelled singer and actor

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"a crazy bear lost in a swamp". The lowest score Tonioli has ever given a contestant was a '2', awarded only once on ''Dancing with the Stars'', to

Master P Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967), better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relau ...

and his partner Ashly DelGrosso for their

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. This was due to Master P's lack of showmanship and unwillingness to train and participate in the show. On ''Strictly Come Dancing'', Tonioli has never awarded a '9' when every other judge has awarded a '10', although this has happened on multiple occasions on ''Dancing With the Stars''. A minor controversy arose following Tonioli's remarks to ''Dancing with the Stars'' contestant

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

and dance partner Chelsie Hightower during the 27 September 2010 show, when he called Bolton's jive dance the worst he had seen in all 11 seasons, later awarding him a score of '3'. Bolton expressed his dissatisfaction prominently in the media afterward, stating: This prompted ABC to release a statement firmly defending Tonioli: In 2020, due to flight restrictions stemming from the

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, Tonioli was stuck in the U.S. and therefore did not appear on the ''Strictly'' judging panel at all during the series, instead appearing each week via video during Sunday night's results shows. On 24 June 2021, it was announced that Anton Du Beke, the longest-running ''Strictly'' professional, would replace Tonioli as a permanent judge on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' for series 19. It was then announced on 19 May 2022 that Tonioli would not be returning to ''Strictly'', and that Du Beke would take over permanently. Tonioli remarked on the matter: Brunostrictlytour

In 2016, a surprise challenge on season 22 of ''Dancing with the Stars'' saw Tonioli work with Jodie Sweetin and the season's eventual-winner

Nyle DiMarco Nyle DiMarco (born May 8, 1989) is an American model, actor, and Deaf culture, Deaf activist. In 2015, DiMarco was the winner of The CW's reality television series ''America's Next Top Model'' in America's Next Top Model (cycle 22), season 22, be ...

and their professional partners. During the sequence, the two celebrities swapped partners, seeing DiMarco and Keo Motsepe dance the tango in ballroom hold, with both men shirtless, and Mostsepe lift and twirl DiMarco. This was the first time a same-sex pairing danced in a scored dance in any franchise of the show. On Christmas Day 2022, in the ''Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special'', Tonioli surprised viewers by making a guest appearance and singing " Don't Leave Me This Way" by

the Communards The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. They consisted of Scottish singer Jimmy Somerville and English musician Richard Coles. They are best known for their cover versions of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes fe ...

. Reactions to the performance were mixed.

Personal life

Tonioli is fluent in five languages: Italian, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. He has lived in London since 1975 but owns a property in Los Angeles for commitments in the U.S. Tonioli is gay and has spoken of the homophobic bullying he suffered in his youth. In 2009, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine said that Tonioli had "won America's heart with his gay-Italian-maniac steez."

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

Judges' biography at BBC Strictly Come Dancing site

Dancing With The Stars: Is Michael Bolton Over-Reacting? at KRTH-FM
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonioli, Bruno 1955 births 21st-century Italian educators 21st-century Italian LGBTQ people British LGBTQ comedians British male comedians Dance teachers Gay dancers Italian choreographers Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom Italian gay entertainers Italian LGBTQ broadcasters Italian LGBTQ comedians Italian LGBTQ dancers Italian male comedians Italian male dancers Italian television personalities Judges in American reality television series LGBTQ choreographers Living people People from Ferrara