Bruno Tonioli axed as judge for Dancing with the Stars parent show Strictly Come Dancing

Bruno Tonioli pulled double duty on dancing shows as he worked as a judge on both Dancing with the Stars and its parent series in the U.K., Strictly Come Dancing.

The U.K. version of the dancing reality series is considered one of the greatest dancing shows in television history, even more prestigious than its American counterpart.

However, in some shocking news, Bruno will no longer be a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, as the producers chose to move on without him.

Bruno Tonioli dropped from Strictly Come Dancing

In 2021, Bruno Tonioli couldn’t make it to the U.K. to serve as a judge in that season of Strictly Come Dancing because of COVID protocols.

The show replaced him with professional dancer Anton Du Beke.

This was similar to when Dancing with the Stars replaced Len Goodman in Season 29 with Derek Hough. After that, Derek remained on the panel, which expanded to four judges instead of three, and Len returned.

However, Strictly Come Dancing is not following the same protocol.

Express reported that BBC bosses chose to keep Anton as a judge and not bring back Bruno at all.

This will come as a shock to fans since Bruno has been a judge on Strictly Come Dancing for 16 years.

“We have been told Anton’s contract as a judge is going to be renewed. The bosses were really happy with his performance,” a source revealed. “It also hasn’t escaped their notice his salary is considerably lower than Bruno’s.”

The source also said that they know there will be some backlash from fans who love Bruno and want him back.

“This decision will ruffle some feathers, not least with Craig [Revel], who has been a very, very vocal advocate for welcoming Bruno back. But the bosses’ attitude is, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’,” the source concluded.

Judge Craig Revel gave his support to Bruno when he chose to cast him on the new live tour, despite the BBC’s decisions.

Bruno reacts to being removed as a judge

The site reported that Bruno was “sad and frustrated” that Strictly Come Dancing chose not to bring him back.

However, he kept his trademark humor and gave support to Anton, saying “Good for him. He needs the money.”

There is no word on the judges for Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars. While Carrie Ann Inaba voiced concerns about the lack of time for judges to speak with four at the table, all four are expected back at this time.

However, there might be changes at the host position, with ABC reportedly looking at Kylie Jenner to join Tyra Banks in the job.

Dancing with the Stars is on hiatus. The dancing reality competition series will return to ABC in late 2022.