Bruno Tonioli: has Strictly Come Dancing judge quit BBC show after 18 years - will Anton Du Beke replace him?

 Professional dancers Bruno Tonioli and Anton Du Beke has been a part of the BBC dancing competition since it started
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Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli is said to have quit the show after almost two decades.

The Italian dancer has presented the BBC One reality show since it first began in 2004, apart from the 2020 and 2021 series which he had to miss due to Covid-19 restrictions.

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In the 2021 series, Tonioli’s place on the judging panel was taken by long-term Strictly professional dancer Anton Du Beke.

Fans were pleased to see Tonioli return to the UK to take part in the Strictly Come Dancing for the 2022 UK arena tour earlier this year, but it is thought he will not be returning for the 2022 TV series.

So, just who is Tonioli and who could replace him on the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel?

Here’s what we know.

Which judge is leaving Strictly Come Dancing?

One of the original Strictly judges, Bruno Tonioli, is rumoured to be leaving the show for good after 18 years.

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Tonioli has been a familiar face on the show since it first aired on BBC One in 2004.

He has appeared in every series of the show, apart from in 2020 and 2021 when he was forced to pull out as he wasn’t able to travel to the Hertfordshire studio where the show is filmed due to coronavirus.

In the 2020 series he appeared virtually via videolink, and in the 2021 series he was replaced on the judging panel by professional dancer Anton Du Beke, who has also been part of the show since it started.

Why is Bruno Tonioli said to be leaving Strictly Come Dancing?

An insider told the Daily Mail that Tonioli has decided to focus his attention on the American version of Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing with the Stars US, in which he also serves as a judge.

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The source said: “Bruno has quit the show for good. He’s going to be a judge only on Dancing With The Stars from now on.”

Tonioli has been a judge on Dancing with the Stars US since it began in 2005.

He is joined on the judging panel by fellow former Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman.

Goodman, who is also a professional ballroom dancer, dance judge and coach, was head judge on Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 until he left the show in 2016.

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He has also been a judge on Dancing with the Stars US every year since 2005, apart from in series 21 and series 29.

Who could replace Bruno Tonioli on the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel?

In February, there were reports that BBC bosses were planning to replace long-serving judge Bruno with Anton, who first joined the judging panel last year after a two-week guest stint in 2020.

Du Beke, who took part in the show as a professional dancer for 16 years, was popular with viewers when he took up a position on the judging panel in 2021 and bosses are said to have wanted to make this permanent.

An insider told The Sun that they had “been told Anton’s contract as a judge is going to be renewed”.

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They added: “‘The bosses were really happy with his performance.”

Fellow long-serving judge Craig Revel Horwood, who has also been on Strictly Come Dancing since it began in 2004, recently suggested Strictly could accommodate five judges.

He said in an interview with MailOnline: “Bruno adds something Anton can’t and vice-versa, if you look at it that way, so I think they’ve both got different opinions which I think is perfectly good.

“‘We could easily have five people on that panel. I think our time would be limited because there are only two minutes for the judges to talk but we would make it count.”

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Du Beke said last month, however, that he “hasn’t been told” whether he is returning to the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel and that any reports about him returning are “just a rumour.”

He told Sussex Life Magazine: “I’m hoping to get a call to say, ‘Look, here you go, come back judging please’.

“But we’ll wait and see. 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. The truth is I haven’t been told.”

Who is Bruno Tonioli?

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Bruno Tonioli, 66, is an Italian choreographer, ballroom and Latin dancer, and TV personality.

He has worked in the music business as a choreographer for music videos, stage shows, and tours for artists such as Tina Turner, Sting, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Freddie Mercury, Boy George, Bananarama, and Duran Duran.

He also danced in the Elton John video for "I’m Still Standing" (1983).

He was born in Ferrara, Italy, on 25 November 1955 and has lived in London since 1975.

Who is Anton Du Beke?

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Anton Du Beke, 55, was born Anthony Paul Beke on 20 July 1966 in Sevenoaks, Kent.

He is a professional ballroom and Latin dancer, television presenter, comedian, singer, author.

His professional dance partner since 1997 has been Erin Boag, who was also one of the professional partners on Strictly from 2004 to 2012.

Despite appearing in every series of Strictly since the start, Du Beke has never lifted the coveted glitterball trophy.

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