Bruno
Tonioli
He has sat at the Dancing with the Stars judges’ table for all 35 seasons, and he spent 18 years on Strictly Come Dancing before that. Bruno Tonioli is an Italian dancer, choreographer and TV judge from Ferrara who danced in Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” video before television made him famous. This biography covers his age, his family, his career, his exits from Strictly and Britain’s Got Talent, his love life and how he earns his money.
| Date of Birth | November 25, 1955 |
|---|---|
| Age | 70 years |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
| Occupation | Dancer, choreographer and TV judge |
| Place of Birth | Ferrara, Italy |
| Parents | Werther and Fulvia Tonioli |
| Languages | Italian, English, Portuguese, Spanish, French |
| Known For | Dancing with the Stars, Strictly Come Dancing, Britain's Got Talent |
| Years on Dancing with the Stars | 2005 to present |
| Marital Status | Never married |
| Book | Bruno: My Story (2012) |
Biography
Bruno Tonioli was born on November 25, 1955, in Ferrara, a city in northern Italy. His father, Werther, drove a bus. His mother, Fulvia, stitched seat covers for cars. Both parents came from farming families, and both worked two jobs, he told ITALY Magazine in June 2013. The family lived with his father’s parents until Bruno was 12.
He says he was raised to “work for what you have.” Dancing came early. “I started dancing before I could talk,” he once told the Daily Mail, recalling how he would jump on the table whenever music played. His parents were keen ballroom dancers, and one of his best childhood memories is watching them dance at the local ballroom.
The film Cabaret reached Ferrara in 1972, and he watched it eight times. That was when he knew dance would be his career. His parents had other plans. “We had huge screaming rows because I wanted to go to art or drama school, and they wanted me to work in a bank,” he told the Daily Mirror in 2005. He went to ballet classes in Rome instead.
Growing up gay in a small Catholic town was hard. He was bullied and called names at school. “I really was the only gay in the village,” he said in a Daily Mirror interview. He later said he had to “fight my corner” to build the life he wanted, and that he made peace with his parents long before they died.
Career
Dancer and Choreographer
A theatre director named Frantz Salieri spotted him in Milan and asked him a simple question: “Can you dance?” In 1974, Salieri gave him the lead in the stage show La Grande Eugène. The show took him first to Paris and then to London, where he settled in 1975. He taught himself English by reading the Sunday Times from cover to cover, which took him about two years.
In 1980 he sang with the group Duke and the Aces in the UK selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They did not win. He found more success behind the scenes as a choreographer. He worked with Tina Turner, Sting, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Freddie Mercury, Boy George, Dead or Alive, Bananarama and Duran Duran.
He danced in Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” video in 1983. He also choreographed the video for “Election Day” by Arcadia, the Duran Duran side project. On film, he played the Maltese Lodger in Absolute Beginners (1986) and a fashion host in What a Girl Wants (2003). In 2004 he choreographed Anne Hathaway in Ella Enchanted.
Strictly Come Dancing
The BBC hired him as a judge when Strictly Come Dancing started in 2004. He sat beside Len Goodman, Arlene Phillips and Craig Revel Horwood, and his loud, physical comments quickly made him a fan favourite. He leaned into his Italian personality from his very first audition, he told ITALY Magazine, and it was not planned.
For years he flew between London and Los Angeles every week to judge both shows. COVID travel limits kept him off the Strictly panel in 2020, so he took part by video. In 2021 Anton Du Beke filled his seat. On May 19, 2022, the BBC said he would not return, and Du Beke took over for good.
“There is no animosity, it was a mutual decision,” he told the Daily Mail in July 2022. “I just couldn’t do the flying any more.” He added that he did not know how he survived the schedule: “To be honest, it’s a miracle.” He was back on the Strictly stage that Christmas to sing “Don’t Leave Me This Way” on the 2022 Christmas special.
Dancing with the Stars
He joined ABC’s Dancing with the Stars when it launched in the US in 2005. He and Carrie Ann Inaba are the only judges who have been on the panel for every one of its 35 seasons. Len Goodman judged with them until he stepped back, and Derek Hough joined the panel in season 29.
His marks can be harsh. In season 2 in 2006, he and Goodman each gave Master P a 2 for his paso doble. The total of 8 out of 30 is still the lowest score in the show’s history. ABC also gave him his own spin-offs, DanceX in 2007 and Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann in 2008.
Season 34 ended on November 25, 2025, the day he turned 70, and the finale doubled as his birthday party. Season 35 premiered on September 15, 2026, with Bruno, Inaba and Hough on the panel. Asked in June 2026 about leaving, he told TVLine: “Until they want me, I’ll be there because I really love the show.”
He still sees the professional dancers as family. “They’re like my kids,” he said on Extra’s “Extra Confessional” in November 2026, when asked to name a favourite pro.
Britain’s Got Talent
ITV named him as a Britain’s Got Talent judge in January 2023, replacing David Walliams. He joined Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon. He did three series, from 2023 to 2025.
In September 2025 he said he was leaving because the show clashed with Dancing with the Stars. “After three incredible series, I’ve sadly had to walk away,” he told ITV. YouTuber and boxer KSI, who had already stood in for him during the 2025 series, took his seat for good when series 19 began on February 21, 2026.
Other Work
He has done plenty outside the judges’ chair. He finished third on The Masked Dancer in 2022, dressed as Pearly King. In 2021 he toured Britain with his old Strictly colleague in Craig and Bruno’s Great British Road Trips, and he played Emperor Nero on Horrible Histories.
He published his memoir, Bruno: My Story, with Headline in September 2012. In November 2016 he put his name to An Italian Romance, a Decca Records album. Two years later he presented Bruno Tonioli at the Opera on BBC Radio 2. He also launched a cookware range inspired by Italian home cooking, and in 2026 he made a guest appearance on Vanderpump Villa.
Controversies and Disputes
The Golden Buzzer Mix-Up (2023)
His first Britain’s Got Talent episode, shown in April 2023, caused a stir. He hit the Golden Buzzer in the middle of a performance, which broke a rule the show had kept since 2014. The buzzer is meant to be pressed only at the end.
Simon Cowell laughed it off. “It doesn’t matter, Bruno. You just gave them the Golden Buzzer. Who cares?” he said. Bruno later explained that he had never watched the show before joining. “Nobody really ever explained that process to me,” he said.
Golden Buzzer Picks and Viewer Complaints
Some viewers also said he wasted his Golden Buzzers on acts they did not rate, including singer Taryn Charles. He stood by his choices and brushed off the criticism. “I don’t focus on the negative,” he said.
Awards and Nominations
His main honours have come through Dancing with the Stars. The Television Academy lists him among the nominees for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program at the Primetime Emmys in 2006 and 2007, as a judge on the show. The award goes to the programme, and the show did not win in either year.
In 2019 he shared a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards nomination for Favorite TV Judges with Len Goodman and Carrie Ann Inaba. He has also been nominated for Choice TV Personality at the Teen Choice Awards. In 2009 Rolling Stone wrote that he had “won America’s heart.”
Personal Life
He has never married and has no children. He is openly gay and has spoken many times about the bullying he faced as a teenager in Ferrara. When Extra asked him about his love life in November 2026, he said: “There is no significant others. It’s not a choice. It’s just it doesn’t happen.” He added that he has had “fantastic relationships in the past.”
He has said much the same for years. “I’m single,” he told the journalist Rob McGibbon in 2015. Entertainment outlets, including HELLO! in 2024, have named a model called Jason Schanne as his partner since about 2010. Bruno has never confirmed this in an interview. HELLO! also reported that he was linked to British model Matt Law after the pair went to the Mary Poppins Returns premiere together, and both said they were just close friends.
The loss of his parents hit him hard. His mother died suddenly of a heart attack in July 1994, aged 63. His father developed Alzheimer’s and died in 2001, aged 70. “My mother’s death made me grow up,” he told Rob McGibbon. “It’s like a constant stabbing in the heart.” He also said, “I wish my parents had lived to see me on Strictly.” He became emotional talking about this run of losses on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs on Christmas Eve 2017.
Len Goodman’s death in April 2023 was another blow. Goodman had told him about his illness before it became public. “Len Goodman’s death hit me like a truck,” he told The Times in early 2025. “But he would have said, ‘Get it together, Bruno. Stop moaning and get on with it.'”
He has lived in London since 1975 and has a flat in Maida Vale. In early 2017 he bought a home in West Hollywood, close to the studio where Dancing with the Stars is filmed. Off camera he likes a quiet life: a book, the sun, his garden and a glass of rosé after 6pm, as he told Extra in 2026.
Timeline
1955: Born on November 25 in Ferrara, Italy.
1972: Watches Cabaret eight times and decides to become a dancer.
1974: Wins the lead in La Grande Eugène and goes on tour with the show.
1975: Settles in London.
1980: Sings with Duke and the Aces in the UK Eurovision selection.
1983: Dances in Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” video.
1986: Appears in the film Absolute Beginners.
1987: Dances on Top of the Pops.
1994: His mother, Fulvia, dies in July, aged 63.
2001: His father, Werther, dies, aged 70.
2003: Appears in What a Girl Wants.
2004: Choreographs Ella Enchanted and becomes a judge on the first series of Strictly Come Dancing.
2005: Joins the judging panel of Dancing with the Stars in the US.
2006: Gives Master P a 2, part of the lowest score in Dancing with the Stars history.
2007: Leads the ABC spin-off DanceX.
2008: Fronts Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann.
2012: Publishes his memoir, Bruno: My Story, in September.
2016: Fronts the Decca album An Italian Romance in November.
2017: Buys a home in West Hollywood and appears on Desert Island Discs on Christmas Eve.
2018: Presents Bruno Tonioli at the Opera on BBC Radio 2.
2019: Shares a Kids’ Choice Awards nomination for Favorite TV Judges.
2020: Judges Strictly by video because of COVID travel limits.
2021: Films Craig and Bruno’s Great British Road Trips.
2022: Finishes third on The Masked Dancer; the BBC confirms his Strictly exit on May 19.
2023: Joins Britain’s Got Talent; Len Goodman dies in April.
2025: Announces his Britain’s Got Talent exit in September and turns 70 on the night of the Dancing with the Stars season 34 finale.
2026: KSI replaces him on Britain’s Got Talent in February, and he returns for Dancing with the Stars season 35 in September.
Net Worth
TV judging is where his money comes from. He has been a judge on Dancing with the Stars, one of ABC’s biggest shows, since 2005. ABC and Disney do not publish judges’ pay, but two decades on a prime-time network show is a long run of steady fees.
His Strictly pay was made public. The BBC’s 2016/17 annual report listed him in the £200,000 to £249,999 band, the same as head judge Len Goodman. He kept both jobs for more than 15 years, and later added three series of Britain’s Got Talent on ITV.
He also earns away from the judges’ table. His income includes his 2012 memoir, the Decca album, radio work, his cookware range, guest spots on TV, and decades of choreography for stars like Tina Turner and the Rolling Stones. His best-known asset is his West Hollywood home, which he bought for $2.825 million in early 2017. He also has his flat in London. With Dancing with the Stars renewed for season 35 and no plans to stop, his earnings look set to keep growing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Bruno from Dancing with the Stars?
Bruno Tonioli was born on November 25, 1955, so he is 70. He turns 71 on November 25, 2026.
Does Bruno Tonioli have a husband?
No. He has never married. In November 2026 he told Extra that he has no partner at the moment.
Is Bruno still on Dancing with the Stars?
Yes. He is judging season 35, which began on September 15, 2026. He has been on the panel for every season since 2005.
Why did Bruno leave Britain’s Got Talent?
He left in September 2025 because filming clashed with Dancing with the Stars. KSI replaced him for the 2026 series.
Why did Bruno leave Strictly Come Dancing?
He left in 2022 because flying between London and Los Angeles every week became too much, especially during COVID. Anton Du Beke took his place.
Where is Bruno Tonioli from?
He is from Ferrara in northern Italy. He has lived in London since 1975 and also has a home in Los Angeles.
