Bruno Tonioli

Bruno Tonioli
Tonioli in 2015
Born	(1955-11-25) 25 November 1955 (age 69) Ferrara, Italy
Citizenship	Italy United Kingdom
Occupations	Television personality choreographer dancer
Years active	1980–present
Partner	Jason Schanne (2010–present)

Bruno Tonioli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbruno tonˈ[ijɔli]]; 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 (2004–2019), DanceX (2007) and Britain's Got Talent (2023–present), and the American television talent shows Dancing with the Stars (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.^[1]

Tonioli has worked in the music business as a choreographer for music videos, stage shows, and tours for artists such as Tina Turner, Sting, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Freddie Mercury, Sinitta, Boy George, Dead or Alive, Bananarama, and Duran Duran. He danced in the Elton John video for "I'm Still Standing" (1983).^[2]

Tonioli choreographed the band Arcadia's music video for their song "Election Day", as documented in a 1980s documentary entitled The Making of Election Day. He was Anne Hathaway's choreographer in the film Ella Enchanted (2004).^[2]

In November 2016, Tonioli lent his name to an album released by Decca Records entitled An Italian Romance, a compilation of Italian songs by various artists selected by Tonioli.^[3]

In November 2018, Tonioli presented the BBC Radio 2 series Bruno Tonioli at the Opera.^[4]

In October 2022, Tonioli competed in the second series of The Masked Dancer as Pearly King, placing third behind Australian actor Adam Garcia (second place) and American actress and dancer Heather Morris (winner).^[5]

In January 2023, it was announced that Tonioli would be joining the judging panel for series 16 of the British talent show Britain's Got Talent, replacing David Walliams.^[6] 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.^[7][8] 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.^[9]

Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars

Bruno Tonioli at Wembley in 2009

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing

Main article: Dancing with the Stars (American TV series)

In 2004, Tonioli was selected to be a judge on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, along with Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, and head judge Len Goodman. In 2005, he was then chosen to be a judge on Dancing with the Stars, along with Goodman and Carrie Ann Inaba, where he, along with Inaba, has remained since.^[10][11] 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.^[12][13] In addition, Tonioli was also involved in the ABC talent competition Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann.^[10][14]

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 Sabrina Bryan "a little lynx on the prowl"^[15] and labelled singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus "a crazy bear lost in a swamp".^[16]

The lowest score Tonioli has ever given a contestant was a '2', awarded only once on Dancing with the Stars, to Master P and his partner Ashly DelGrosso for their Paso Doble. This was due to Master P's lack of showmanship and unwillingness to train and participate in the show.^[17] 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.^[18]

A minor controversy arose following Tonioli's remarks to Dancing with the Stars contestant Michael Bolton 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:

"To me, [Bruno] let everybody down. My mom was there, she flew in. She's 90 and I thought she was going to really enjoy it, and I just didn't expect that level of disrespect from him."^[19]

This prompted ABC to release a statement firmly defending Tonioli:^[20]

"Bruno's role as a judge is to give his honest opinions on the quality of the dances he's judging, which is what he did in this case. While we respect the feelings of our celebrities and dancers, we don't feel Bruno should be expected to apologize for doing his job."

In 2020, due to flight restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.^[21]

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.^[22] It was then announced on 19 May 2022 that Tonioli would not be returning to Strictly, and that Du Beke would take over permanently.^[23] Tonioli remarked on the matter:

Tonioli in 2022

"Well I always will miss it, it's my family, I mean we'll always be friends and you never know what's going to happen. At the moment, you know it's just as impossible, you know the situation is too complicated but they're all my brothers and sisters. We're all loving each other, you know, no hard feelings, they're great, they do a great job."^{[citation needed]}

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 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.^[24]

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.^[25] Reactions to the performance were mixed.^[26][27][28]

Personal life

Tonioli is fluent in five languages: Italian, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French.^[29] He has lived in London since 1975^[30] but owns a property in Los Angeles for commitments in the U.S.^[31]

Tonioli is gay and has spoken of the homophobic bullying he suffered in his youth.^[32] In 2009, Rolling Stone magazine said that Tonioli had "won America's heart with his gay-Italian-maniac steez."^[33] Since 2010, Tonioli has been in a relationship with model Jason Schanne, and the couple held a commitment ceremony in 2012.^[34]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Blake's 7	Dead Young Man	1 episode; Uncredited
1985	Murder of a Moderate Man	Italian Policeman	1 episode; TV Mini Series
	Oscar	Peppino	1 episode
1987	Top of the Pops	Dancer
2001	The Bill	Rolf
2004–2019, 2022	Strictly Come Dancing	Judge, Guest Performer
2005–2019	Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two	Himself	41 episodes
2005–present	Dancing with the Stars	Judge
2007–2008, 2015	Dancing with the Stars Australia	Guest Judge	7 episodes
2007–2019	Entertainment Tonight	Himself	20 episodes
2007	DanceX	Team Leader	Also co-creator
2008	Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann
2010	Strictly Cinderella	Himself	Cbeebies Special
2012	8 Out of 10 Cats		1 episode
	Top Gear USA
2013	Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor		TV Special
	Goodbye Television Centre		TV Documentary
	Piers Morgan's Life Stories
	Let's Do Christmas with Gino & Mel
2013–2015	Through the Keyhole	Guest Panelist	2 episodes
2013–2017	Celebrity Juice		3 episodes
2014	Nashville	Himself	1 episode
	Would I Lie to You?	Guest Panelist
	Celebrity Squares
	Room 101
2015	The People's Strictly for Comic Relief	Judge
	Celebrity Fifteen to One	Himself	1 episode
	The Dr. Oz Show
	Reality Bites	Guest Panelist
2016–2020	Children in Need	Himself
2016	Fuller House	Guiseppe Pignoli	1 episode
	Michael McIntyre's Big Show	Himself
	West Side Stories: The Making of a Classic	Presenter	TV Documentary
2017	Saturday Night Fever - the Ultimate Disco Movie
	Eurovision: You Decide	Himself	TV Special
2018	Eyes of Faith		TV Documentary
	Tribute to George Chakiris
	Sir Bruce: A Celebration
2019	Tipping Point: Lucky Stars		1 episode
2020	Celebrity Supply Teacher
2021	Horrible Histories	Emporer Nero
	Craig and Bruno's Great British Road Trips	Himself	1 series; 6 episodes
	The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration		TV Special
	Take Off with Bradley & Holly		1 episode
2022	The Masked Dancer	Pearly King	8 episodes
	Blankety Blank	Himself	1 episode
	The Wheel
	Portrait Artist of the Year
2023–present	Britain's Got Talent	Judge

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Absolute Beginners	Maltese Lodger
2003	What a Girl Wants	Fashion Emcee
2016	Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie	Himself	Cameo Appearance

References

1. Ling, Thomas (28 January 2017). "Strictly Come Dancing Judge Bruno Tonioli's Secret Eurovision Past Has Been Revealed". Radio Times. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
2. "Let's Get Ready to Rumba!". People. Vol. 64, no. 2. 11 July 2005. p. 119.
3. Bruno Tonioli: An Italian Romance (CD liner notes). Europe: Decca Records. 2016. B01LWT59EI.
4. "Bruno Tonioli at the Opera". BBC Radio 2.
5. "The Masked Dancer: Scissors is unmasked and crowned champion". BBC. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
6. "David Walliams replaced by Bruno Tonioli as Britain's Got Talent judge". BBC. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
7. Williams, Kathryn (15 April 2023). "Britain's Got Talent 2023: Bruno Tonioli hits Golden Buzzer for Ghetto Kids dance troupe in show first". Wales Online.
8. Harrison, Ellie (16 April 2023). "Britain's Got Talent plunged into joyful chaos as Bruno Tonioli keeps on making mistakes". The Independent.
9. Hegarty, Tasha (14 May 2023). "Britain's Got Talent sees Bruno Tonioli press his Golden Buzzer for the second time". Digital Spy.
10. Morris, Natalie (1 December 2021). "Inside Bruno Tonioli's Relationship With Carrie Ann Inaba". The List. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
11. Harrison, Ellie (26 October 2023). "Bruno Tonioli seen weeping after Len Goodman tribute on Dancing with the Stars". The Independent. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
12. Green, Alex (19 October 2018). "Strictly Come Dancing: What you need to know ahead of this weekend". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
13. Bevan, Nathan (18 October 2019). "Who is Alfonso Ribeiro? The judge replacing Bruno Tonioli on Strictly Come Dancing this week". Wales Online. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
14. "OK! Interview: Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli". OK!. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
15. "O.C.'s Sabrina Bryan achieves perfection on 'Dancing With the Stars'". Orange County Register. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
16. "Mills foxtrots onto US dance show". BBC News. 20 March 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
17. Hogan, Allie (23 November 2020). "The Worst 'Dancing With The Stars' Contestant Ever, According to the Pros". Yahoo! Life.
18. Barrientos, Selena (13 October 2020). "'Dancing With the Stars' Fans Are Fuming at Judge Bruno Tonioli Over Johnny Weir's Score". Good Housekeeping.
19. ABC News (29 September 2010). "Michael Bolton Demands Apology From Bruno Tonioli". ABC News.
20. Seibel, Deborah Starr (29 September 2010). "Backstage at Dancing With the Stars: Pros React to Bruno's Harsh Comments". TV Guide. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
21. Lewis, Isobel (21 August 2020). "Strictly: Bruno Tonioli will not be permanent judge on 2020 season due to travel restrictions". The Independent. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
22. "Anton Du Beke to join Strictly judges for new series". BBC News. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
23. "Bruno Tonioli leaves Strictly Come Dancing for good, replaced by Anton Du Beke". BBC News. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
24. Williams, Joe (10 May 2016). "Dancing With The Stars features first same-sex dance routine". PinkNews. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
25. Bruno Tonioli performs Don't Leave Me This Way in our Christmas Special (YouTube video). BBC Strictly Come Dancing. 25 December 2022. EJ1M4iBad8M.
26. Rodger, James (26 December 2022). "Strictly's Bruno slammed over Christmas special as some rush to defend him". Birmingham Live.
27. Ali, Ayaan (25 December 2022). "Strictly fans baffled as Bruno Tonioli 'ruins Christmas' with singing". MyLondon.
28. Coyle, Simon (25 December 2022). "Strictly fans divided as Bruno Tonioli returns to show for Christmas special". Manchester Evening News.
29. Griffiths, Emmy (11 February 2019). "Strictly fans reveal Bruno Tonioli's hidden talent". Hello!. Archived from the original on 11 February 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
30. "Strictly Come Dancing - Bruno Tonioli". BBC. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
31. Avery, Rachel (18 September 2023). "See inside Dancing with the Stars' Bruno Tonioli two very different homes". Hello!. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
32. "I WAS THE ONLY GAY IN MY VILLAGE .. HUMOUR HELPED ME TO BEAT THE BULLIES". Daily Mirror. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
33. "Meet the New Boss, and Weep". Rolling Stone. No. 1080. 11 June 2009. p. 88.
34. "Who is Bruno Tonioli's partner? Everything you need to know". Hello!. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.

External links

• Judges' biography at BBC Strictly Come Dancing site Archived 20 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
• Biography at ABC Dancing with the Stars site
• Dancing With The Stars: Is Michael Bolton Over-Reacting? at KRTH-FM
• Bruno Tonioli at IMDb