Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Oh no... Bruno Strictly KO
BBC confirm he’ll miss start of new series because of virus
MAMMA mia! The new series of Strictly Come Dancing will be starting without its passionate Italian judge – as Bruno Tonioli is stranded in Los Angeles.
But bosses say they are confident he will make the final stages.
Judge Bruno is in the US for their version of the show and Covid flight restrictions and quarantine mean he will almost certainly need to stay there until the series ends.
He will be on a video for the UK Sunday results shows before a big return at the end of the BBC series.
Sources say he could be back for around four episodes but in the worst case just the semis and final.
The 64-year-old said: “Lockdown has resulted in me being in LA for the foreseeable but I’m excited to be involved as much as I can. There was no cha-chachance I’d miss out!” Bosses have not replaced him in the hope he may return earlier.
Meanwhile, fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood, 55, says this year’s socially distanced contestants will be better than ever because “being in bubbles with just their pro and family means no social life and no distractions”.
David Walliams’ old Little Britain sidekick Matt Lucas would provide endless fun. But he might be restricted as he is about to make his big debut on C4’s Great British Bake Off. Other options to maximise the laughs would be Alan Carr, Romesh Ranganathan, Dawn French or Ruby Wax. Elsewhere, Ashley Banjo, below, would be a great choice – he won BGT with dance troupe Diversity and has since got plenty of experience as a TV judge. If all else fails, Ant or Dec (or both!) could always ditch their hosting duties and have a go at being Simon.