Long time Strictly Come Dancing fans will be gutted to hear that one of our favourite, original judges, Bruno Tonioli has hung up his dancing shoes for the BBC show.
As reported by the MailOnline, the 66-year-old choreographer has decided to quit Strictly Come Dancing in order to focus on his role judging the upcoming series of Dancing With The Stars, over in the States.
“Bruno has quit the show for good,” a source told the publication, adding, “He's going to be a judge only on [the U.S. version] Dancing With The Stars from now on.”
Bruno was one of the original Strictly Come Dancing judges, who has been involved with the show for 18 years, since it launched back in 2004. However, for the past two years now, Bruno has been unable to resume his judging duties, due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
In his place, fellow Strictly alum and professional dancer Anton Du Beke has stepped up to that glitzy podium, much to the delight of devoted viewers!
“My loves, I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be stepping into Bruno's brogues for the next series of Strictly,” Anton excitedly revealed last year, when it was announced that he would temporarily be taking Bruno’s place on the judging panel.
“It's a dream come true to be judging alongside the best of the best and I promise to be kinder to all the couples than any of them have ever been to me,” he jokingly added.
It now seems highly likely that 54-year-old Anton will be taking over from Bruno for good. However, nothing has been officially decided just yet, as Anton recently commented that he’s currently waiting for a call from BBC bosses.
“I'm hoping to get a call to say, 'Look, here you go, come back judging please,’” Anton confessed when speaking to Sussex Life Magazine. “I'd like to think I'd be on the show in one way or another. I wouldn't like to think they'd just get rid of me altogether. That would be a bit dramatic to go from dancer to judge to off the show,” he added.
