Bruno Tonioli says he hasn’t heard a word from his fellow Strictly Come Dancing judges since it was announced that he wouldn’t be taking part in this year’s show.
The Italian star, 65, was forced to miss out on the forthcoming series due to COVID rules, as he lives in the US and is unable to travel.
In the upcoming series of Strictly, he’ll be replaced by Anton Du Beke, one of the show’s longest-serving professional dancers.
You might’ve thought that Bruno‘s fellow judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas would’ve been in touch with him, but apparently not.
What did Bruno say about Strictly Come Dancing?
Bruno told The Sun: “I haven’t heard from them. But I’m not going to cry, we all have very separate lives.
“And they have given very supportive messages in the press.”
The popular judge is currently starring with Craig in a new travel series, Great British Road Trips.
And he added: “I will see Craig anyway because of our ITV project together. The girls are fine — we’re all professionals. Ultimately they all know that the priority is to make the show work.”
Read more: Bruno Tonioli breaks his Twitter silence as Anton Du Beke takes his place as Strictly judge
Bruno, who also judges Dancing With The Stars in the US, did not appear in person at all during the 2020 series of Strictly.
Due to the pandemic, he was only seen making comments via video link on Sunday evenings.
It clearly wasn’t an ideal scenario, and last month it was announced that Bruno was going to be replaced by Anton this time around.
How was his departure announced?
A message on the official Strictly Twitter feed said: “It’s the judges!
“Please welcome back to Strictly, Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse AND Anton Du Beke, who’ll be stepping into Bruno Tonioli’s shoes for 2021!”
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Bruno admitted in his interview that he wouldn’t be watching the series, saying it would be “weird”.
However, he did suggest that he would be open to a return to the show in the future.
Anton Du Beke has previously stepped into Bruno’s shoes on several occasions when the Italian judge was absent.
The dancer has been on the show since it started in 2004, and finished second in the 2019 series with his celebrity partner, EastEnders actress Emma Barton.
The new series of Strictly Come Dancing starts in the autumn.
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