Bruno Tonioli will take a £125,000 pay cut on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ this year, after he has only been appearing on the show virtually.
Bruno Tonioli
The 65-year-old judge has not appeared on the BBC Latin and ballroom dance competition in person this year, as he instead opted to film the US dance series ‘Dancing with the Stars’, and couldn’t fly back to the UK because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, Bruno has been appearing via video link on the results shows to give his opinion on the routines without giving an official score, and sources have now said his scaled back role will come with a pay cut of half of his usual £250,000 salary.
An insider told The Sun newspaper: “Much of Britain is working from home right now but Bruno is expected, where possible, to be there in person.
“He’s contributed less than he normally would with all of his Italian flamboyance and high-energy performances in the studio, so he was happy to take less than his usual wage.
“After all, it was his decision to focus on the American show while keeping his toe in the UK. There’s no hard feelings.”
The news comes after it was recently revealed Bruno will miss out on taking part in the final of ‘Strictly’, after it was initially believed he would be making a return to the show in time for the all-important episode.
The BBC show confirmed last week that travelling from the US to the UK has been deemed too risky for the flamboyant judge, and so he will continue to appear via video link.
In his absence, the remaining three judges - Craig Revel Horwood, Dame Shirley Ballas, and Motsi Mabuse - have continued to give the celebrities a score out of 10 for their dances, meaning a perfect score this year is 30 rather than 40.
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