Britain's Got Talent 2023 gets underway this weekend with a change to its judging panel since the David Walliams' exit, viewers are wondering who is Bruno Tonioli and is he married?
Many fans will asking why is David Walliams not on BTG? after he was replaced by Dancing With the Stars judge and former judge on Strictly Come Dancing.
Bruno joins existing judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon for the 16th season and while you can play along at home with the Britain's Got Talent 2-in-1 game, we look at all you need to know about the new judge...
Who is Bruno Tonioli?
Bruno Tonioli is an Italian choreographer, who is also trained in ballroom and latin dance and sits as a judge on the UK version of Britain's Got Talent and Dancing With the Stars on ABC in the US. He quit as a judge of Strictly Come Dancing after 18 years on the show because his work schedule clashed and he was replaced by Anton Du Beke.
Born in Ferrara, Italy, to his bus driver father Werther and his mother Fulvia, who stitched car seat upholstery, lived with his parents and his grandparents until he was 12. He's been living in London since 1975 and can speak five languages - Italian, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
In 1980 he performed with an entry for Eurovision, with a group called Duke and the Aces and joined Paris-based company La Grande Eugene in the early 80s.
In his star-studded career he's worked on numerous films, plays, music videos, commercials and television series to name but a few with icons including Elton John and Michael Jackson.
Believe it or not, he even starred in Elton John's video of hit I'm Still Standing and has released a book in 2012 called Bruno: My Story.
Bruno has admitted he was 'petrified' at joining the judging panel on Simon Cowell's show. Speaking on The One Show, he confessed, "I was petrified. I was really nervous. Because nobody told me, I didn't have any rehearsals, nothing - 'You're on'. Someone said: 'Just do your thing'. Okay, I'll do my thing."
He did just that and teased that he pressed his golden buzzer mid-performance for a dance act he loved.
"There was this amazing act, that you will see, they were so incredible, I just couldn't wait to get the buzzer. It was 'Whack!' Dancers. I literally went for it. And it was mid-performance," he said.
"The stage exploded with gold and everybody [gasped]. [I thought] what's going on here? Have I done something wrong? - it was actually amazing. But honestly, nobody told me you had to wait until the end of the performance!"
We can't wait to hear his critique for those who aren't so good! and if you're wondering where the Britain's Got Talent stars are now take a look.
Is Bruno Tonioli married?
Bruno Tonioli is not married but he is thought to be in a long-term relationship with partner Jason Schanne. The pair have been dating since 2010 and held a committed ceremony two years after they met. Bruno keeps his personal life out of the spotlight but it's understood that Jason is a model, who turns 37 this year, and lived in Michigan, US. Bruno is 31 years older - celebrating his 68th birthday later this year.
There are no known photos of Bruno and Jason but Bruno was pictured at the European Premiere of Mary Poppins Returns with model Matt Law back in 2018 but he later made clear the pair were only close friends.
In an interview with the Mirror Bruno opened up on the homophobic abuse he received as a youngster, "When I was 10, I knew there was something different about me.
"Everyone was football-mad but I just wanted to watch musicals and see art.
"It was frightening. I really WAS the only gay in the village.
"I was labelled 'the queenie guy' and 'the queer', which was the worst thing you could be told in Italy in those days."
Britain's Got Talent airs on Saturday, 15th April at 8pm on ITV1 and is available an hour later on ITV+1 or to stream on ITVX.
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