Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli talks to TV Times magazine about the start of a new series of our favourite dance show... Are you excited about the start of the series this year? “I am like a coiled spring! It’s going to be fantastic!” What do you think is so fabulous about the show? “It’s the best night out you can have at home. The show brings everybody together and it’s so uplifting and warm – it has a real feel-good factor.” What’s the best thing about it? “The great thing about Strictly is that it keeps reinventing itself because of the contestants and I’m sure that this year’s characters will be just as interesting and as explosive as before. I always look forward to meeting the new batch!” Who would be your dream Strictly contestant? “I think we should have Prince Harry on, he’s a good mover! In fact, we should do a royal Strictly, by Royal Command!” Anyone else? “I’ve been going on for years about getting David Beckham on the show. His footwork is pretty nifty so there is always a space for him. Kate Moss would be fantastic too.” Your book came out recently... “I had a very busy summer! I never look back and I’ve been turning down the book year after year. I wanted it to be absolutely right, to be funny and interesting and above all a good story.” Are you pleased with it? “Very! And I really hope people enjoy it – there’ll be a lot of stuff in there that people don’t really know, it’s not just about the Strictly character.” You’ll also be judging Dancing with the Stars again, which also begins this month... “They’re such great shows and we want to do them both, but once we get to week five, going backwards and forwards between London and LA, oh the complaining!” You’re also firm friends with fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood. He’s known as the Mr Nasty of the Strictly panel... “Craig is lovely, happy-go-lucky and very funny. In a way, our stage personas are the reverse of what we are like in real life. Craig is very cheerful and I’m much more intense behind the scenes, I’m a worrier. It all changes when we go on stage – I just let it all hang out and he turns mean!” Last year, Strictly made history by swapping its BBC studio for Wembley Arena for one very special episode... “It’s amazing that we’re going back. It’s the same kind of atmosphere as when we go on tour. When you have 7,000 people in the arena it gives an energy that you can’t really recreate anywhere else. It’s like being at the Colliseum watching the gladiators. You feel like emperors – it’s a huge buzz.”
