Great artists need this kind of opportunity…
Bruno Tonioli is back on the judging panel for the new run of Britain’s Got Talent, as more mind-blowing, surprising and moving acts hope to impress.
“And we hopefully give them that, [and they] get bookings and they get more work.”
This series, we can expect “incredible talent” he says, including a few really good choirs.
“They’re really, really long days [of filming] but they just fly because there are so many surprises.
“It’s moving, it’s empowering, it’s life affirming. Some are terrible.
“You never really know what’s going to happen next, it’s brilliant.”
The golden buzzers – which the judges (and Ant and Dec) can press to give their favourite contestants an automatic place in the live semifinals – were flying, Bruno says.
There is a record nine in this series and it could be anything that makes him hit his.
“Just something that gives me that rush, those goosebumps, [the] hair behind your neck standing up.
“It’s a moment that you feel so involved, you feel it in your stomach.
“When you see a kid that puts so much heart and soul into something that you feel ‘they need my support’.”
Bruno got so excited by one act early on the first day of filming at the London Palladium, he actually broke the golden buzzer – which Simon called “hysterical”.
He was so impressed by dance group Ghetto Kids he hit it halfway through the performance, not realising the buzzers are meant to be pressed after it’s over.
Since last year, the rule book has been torn up and golden buzzers can be hit multiple times by the same person, which Ant says makes the auditions “chaotic”.
“There’s chaos backstage, chaos out the front, and chaos onstage...,” he says.
And, for Alehsha, sitting next to Bruno on the judging table is like “sitting next to an excitable puppy or toddler! Bruno gives you that lift in a session when you need a bit of a pick-me-up.
“He just injects that passion and that’s always appreciated, but of course, like any toddler or puppy, occasionally they need to be told to sit down and behave!”
Contestants will be hoping to avoid the dreaded red buzzers though, which could cut their time on the show short.
While many performances are simply very impressive, some acts share moving stories too.
Bruno says: “Some people you realise have been through incredibly harrowing experiences and you learn from them and the way they deal with it, how positive [they are] and how they can laugh at themselves, their sense of humour.
“It’s just such a wide range of experiences that you get from the show that I find mind-blowing really.”
But he’s never watched back any episodes of any talent show he’s appeared on in 20 years, “because I need to be clear, I need an open mind. I have to work with what is there”.
The element of surprise in terms of what talent a performer reveals makes it very different to judging Strictly or Dancing with the Stars, which he had been a judge on in the US since the show started in 2005.
“Because you’re commenting on each act individually, in terms of what they do.
“On Dancing with the Stars and Strictly they all compete against each other, we know what to look for in each dance – it’s very specific... we know ahead what has to be delivered. So [BGT] is a completely different kettle of fish.”
For example: “Comedy, you can comment on content.
“Maybe the content will be very good, but the delivery is wrong, timing is wrong, they don’t know how to place the joke and kill it.”
Regardless of what the act is, as BGT’S newest judge, “you can draw on all your experience in the industry for 40 years”.
■ Britain’s Got Talent continues tomorrow at 7.40pm and is also available to watch on ITVX
LAUREN TAYLOR finds out more