Simon Cowell Addresses Bruno Tonioli BGT Axe Rumours

Simon Cowell has spoken out about rumours that Bruno Tonioli could be dropped as a Britain’s Got Talent judge after two seasons on the panel.

Following Sunday night’s BGT final, which saw singer Sydnie Christmas making history with her win, The Sun published an article claiming that Simon was considering dropping Bruno from the show.

According to the tablpid, the next season of the long-running talent show will be filmed earlier than usual, in October rather than January, meaning the former Strictly Come Dancing star may not be able to take part due to scheduling issues.

However, when the subject was raised during an interview with Simon on Heart Radio, the talent show mogul said simply: “No.”

“I don’t know where all this stuff comes from, I spoke to the producers literally two weeks ago about it,” he insisted.

While Simon agreed there was a “scheduling issue” with Bruno, he said they could overcome this by having a “stand-in for him” on the panel.

However, Simon added: “I love Bruno on this show. I think he’s brilliant and he knows so much about what he’s talking about.

“Sometimes when people are singing a certain kind of music he’s like talking so eloquently and I’m thinking actually he’s a brilliant, brilliant judge, and the nicest person. So no, I would not replace him. He’s coming back.”

According to The Sun’s undisclosed “source” Alan Carr was already being “mooted” as a possible successor to Bruno, after the two were famously both in the running to replace David Walliams on the show last year.

However, Amanda Holden – who has worked with Alan on a number of TV projects – insisted that the comic “has not heard from BGT”, noting: “I asked him myself.”