Why Bruno Tonioli's appointment has been the change Britain's Got Talent needed
Britain’s Got Talent returned for its 16th series last weekend, with a new judge, Bruno Tonioli, who is best known to UK viewers as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 to 2019. He replaced David Walliams, who was a judge from 2012 to 2022.
Amusingly, with both Bruno and Alesha Dixon now on board, 50% of the 2009-2011 Strictly panel now make up 50% of the BGT panel. Not to mention that Dixon competed in Strictly (judged by Tonioli) and won, two years before becoming a judge.
It was the first change to Britain's Got Talent's panel since 2012 (when Walliams and Dixon were introduced), and the first notable on-screen change at all since the golden buzzer was introduced in 2014.
While there’s no doubt that the introduction of Walliams and Dixon changed BGT for the better when they arrived, ten series is an extremely long amount of time to retain the same panel. It’s a testament to a team that worked, unlike the later years of The X Factor (also produced by Syco Entertainment and headed by Simon Cowell), but a decade was still too long to stay exactly the same.
Bruno Tonioli is known for being a big character on Strictly, so we were quietly confident that he would bring that same energy to BGT (which, admittedly, Walliams also did). He is also familiar to British audiences as a judge of a talent competition.
What became apparent within the first episode is that Bruno was not aware of the rules: he admitted as much in interviews that he had never watched the show before. In some respects, having someone seeing the show with fresh eyes is a good thing, but the first ‘mishap’ involved Bruno hitting the buzzer after saying "no" to an act without realising that he didn’t need to. But this naivety was actually quite amusing and brightened up the show.
The second mishap, the big moment of the show, was when Bruno pressed his golden buzzer (for the dance troupe Ghetto Kids) mid-way through their performance, something which has never been done before.
Despite this, it actually added to the performance. The kids continued to dance despite the confetti falling down and it elevated the energy in the room, which came through on screen.
It was quite clearly a genuine mistake (as the rules, again, had to be explained to him afterwards) but it’s because of that it made for a great moment. Not to mention his making the effort to go backstage and speak to the act directly afterwards. He appeared to be taking the show seriously.
As the show progressed, we realised that we were not missing David Walliams. Even though he was an enjoyable presence on the show for many years – leaving the stink surrounding his departure to one side – the time had come for a change.
One of Bruno’s qualities is that, for all his flamboyance, he’s not afraid to press the buzzer and say "no" to acts, despite Simon Cowell not playing up to his ‘Mr Nasty’ role in the same way as he used to.
At the same time, he also feels things very deeply, evidenced by his reaction to 13-year-old singer Malakai in episode two (who received Simon’s golden buzzer) and how emotional he was after the performance.
Britain’s Got Talent remains one of the nation's favourite shows. Yes, the presentation and on-screen talent may change, but that's what the show needs to live on and showcase talent for many more years to come. Implementing a new judge who is clearly very suited to the show has extended the show’s lifespan.
Britain's Got Talent is on ITV on Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7.45pm
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