Strictly Come Dancing icon didn’t apply for presenting job for one huge reason
EXCLUSIVE: The star has worked on the Strictly brand for decades.
Strictly Come Dancing icon Bruno Tonioli, 70, has admitted why he wasn't considered for the role of the show's presenter following the departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. The star was one of the original judges on the BBC Saturday night flagship show when it launched in May 2004 and remained there for 18 years until May 2022. He officially stepped down because the trans-Atlantic travel schedule with his commitments on the US version of Strictly, Dancing with the Stars became unsustainable.
Given his history with the show and his knowledge of its inner workings, he would seem an obvious choice to present the show, but speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk at the recent British LGBT Awards, the star revealed his US work commitments would still make it impossible. "I'm under contract basically from the end of August till the end of November, I'm on Dancing with the Stars. I started 21 years ago. [But] you never know what's going to happen in the future," he teased.
Bruno was also forced to exit his role as a judge on Britain's Got Talent due to his commitments stateside, but the star insisted he is still on good terms with all his former colleagues from both shows.
"I do miss Strictly. I miss Britain's Got Talent. They're all friends. It's a great show, but sometimes you know what happens, you know, you, you can't be in two different continents at the same time.
"It's just a question of dates, but they're all my friends. That's the nature of the industry, and I cannot complain," he laughed heartily.
can't be oBruno began working on Dancing With The Stars 21 years ago in 2005 and managed to juggle it alongside Strictly for many years. As such, he has seen a lot of changes in both shows over the past two decades.
"The thing is, about the show, you have to keep them relevant, so what you do, you don't change the heart and the core of it, but every time you come back, you have to, in a way, raise the bar," he said.
"We've been doing that. So you still have the same beating heart, but we always try to improve on the last time, and that's why it is so successful.
"Every country has a slightly different approach. I've done it in Australia as well, and it's actually exactly the same format.
"The British one is more Strictly Ballroom, while the American is more like - they call it American smooth. Think about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It has more of a connection with the American public, because they know Fred and Ginger, but it's exactly the same thing as Strictly," he insisted.
