Bruno Tonioli confirmed as new Britain’s Got Talent judge – replacing David Walliams
Former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli has been confirmed as the new judge on Britain’s Got Talent.
The 67-year-old Italian choreographer and dancer has replaced comedian David Walliams on the ITV talent show’s judging panel, and will join Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon.
As auditions began on Tuesday, Tonioli said: “Here we are, Britain’s Got Talent. I am so excited.
“It’s my first show, I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I’m sure it’s going to be brilliant.”
Walliams, who joined the show in 2012, apologised in November for making “disrespectful comments” about contestants during breaks in filming in January 2020.
The first round of auditions kicked off on Tuesday as the show returned to the London Palladium, with hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly pictured entering the venue alongside the show’s creator, Cowell, 63, who was wearing a grey jumper and black aviator sunglasses.
Posting a picture of the Palladium, BGT’s official Twitter page said: “We’re baaaack! And we’re ready to find our next #BGT superstar! Could it be you? Auditions day 1, bring it on!”
Tonioli, who is a ballroom and Latin dancer, was a fan favourite on Strictly after joining the BBC One programme during its debut series in 2004.
It was announced last year he would be leaving the celebrity dancing competition after his travel commitments made it “impossible” to continue.
The 2023 BGT panel with (L-R) Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell, and hosts Ant and Dec standing behind
Due to COVID travel rules in 2020, Tonioli could only appear via video link to give his verdict on the Strictly performances during the Sunday night results show.
He was replaced by long-standing professional dancer Anton Du Beke in 2021, who joined the panel alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas.
Tonioili confirmed his departure from the show in May last year, saying he would instead focus on his other role as a judge on Dancing With The Stars, which films around the same time of year as Strictly in the US.
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Om Fahad: Iraqi social media influencer shot dead by gunman on motorbike who posed as food delivery rider – report
A well-known Iraqi social media influencer has reportedly been shot dead in her car by a gunman on a motorbike.
Om Fahad, whose real name is Ghufran Sawadi, was killed outside her home in Baghdad’s Zayouna district on Friday, according to the AFP news agency, citing security officials.
It appears the unidentified attacker pretended to be delivering food to the victim, one security source said.
Om Fahad, who has nearly half a million TikTok followers, became famous for posting light-hearted videos where she dances to Iraqi music.
Six days ago, she shared footage of herself driving in a car and also posing in front of a mirror. They have each been watched hundreds of thousands of times.
The influencer was sentenced to six months in prison in February last year for sharing videos that a court ruled contained “indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality”.
A campaign was launched in 2023 by the Iraqi government to clamp down on social media content which broke the country’s “morals and traditions”.
The interior ministry set up a committee to look for “offensive” clips on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, with several influencers being arrested.
“This type of content is no less dangerous than organised crime,” the ministry declared in a promotional video which asked the public to help by reporting such content.
“It is one of the causes of the destruction of the Iraqi family and society.”
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Speaking last year, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan argued the morality campaign has “nothing to do with freedom of expression”.
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In 2018, gunmen in Baghdad shot dead Tara Fares, who was a model and influencer.
After years of war and sectarian conflict following the 2003 US invasion that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq has returned to some semblance of normality despite sporadic violence, political instability and corruption.
But civil liberties, particularly among women and sexual minorities, are still constrained in a conservative and male-dominated society.
R Kelly’s challenge against a 20-year sentence for child sex convictions has been quashed by an appeals court.
The singer was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison, a Chicago court ruled on Friday.
He was convicted in 2022 on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.
In his appeal, Kelly, 57, argued Illinois’ old statute of limitations – which required prosecution of child sex crime charges within 10 years – should have applied, rather than the current law permitting charges while an accuser is still alive.
The appeals court rejected this, labelling it an attempt by Kelly to elude the charges entirely after “employing a complex scheme to keep victims quiet”.
He also argued that charges involving one accuser should have been tried separately from the charges tied to three other accusers due to video evidence that became a focal point of the Chicago trial.
Prosecutors have said the video showed Kelly abusing a girl. The accuser, only identified as Jane, testified for the first time that she was 14 when the video was taken.
The three-judge panel from the appeals court noted jurors acquitted Kelly on seven of the 13 counts against him “even after viewing those abhorrent tapes”.
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In a written statement, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said they plan to seek a US Supreme Court review of the decision and “pursue all of his appellate remedies until we free R Kelly”.
“We are disappointed in the ruling, but our fight is far from over,” she said.
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