The TV judge on growing up gay in a small town, choreographing dancing cows and his love of fried chicken
Born in northern Italy, Bruno Tonioli, 67, became a dancer and joined the Lindsay Kemp Company in London. He went on to become a choreographer, working on the 1998 film Little Voice and TV shows such as Absolutely Fabulous and Bad Girls. From 2004 to 2022 he was a judge on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing, and since 2005 he has been a judge on Dancing With the Stars in the US. Tonioli replaces David Walliams on Britain’s Got Talent, which returns to ITV1 and ITVX on 15 April tonight. He lives in London and Los Angeles.
What is your greatest fear?
Sheer drops, like a precipice.
