‘Strictly Come Dancing’ choreographer Ian Waite has taken a swipe at Bruno Tonioli.
The 64-year-old TV judge will be absent from this year’s ‘Strictly’ series after opting to commit himself to the US version, ‘Dancing with the Stars’, amid ongoing travel restrictions – and while Ian doesn’t think it will "be the same without him", he doesn’t believe Bruno will be a great loss to the programme in terms of technical feedback.
When asked on FUBAR Radio’s ‘Access All Areas’ if Bruno "will be missed", he said: "Do you want the honest truth? I love Bruno for the entertainment value, but nothing else."
Ian subsequently questioned Bruno’s contribution to the show, saying he fails to give any technical feedback to the contestants.
He explained: "He doesn’t really say anything technical. He’s not really the technician of the panel.
"It’s like, how many arms can I flail around and how expressive can I be?
"He’s very expressive, he’s very funny, and I think that’s a great part of the …
"I don’t think it will be the same without him, but I’m happy to stand in if they need somebody."
Ian also revealed that some of the ‘Strictly’ pros colleagues don’t appreciate his brutally honest approach, and claimed he was once confronted by one of the show’s stars on ‘Strictly: It Takes Two’.
He shared: "There are some pros who don’t like you saying anything against them, but they can stuff it."
Ian was reluctant to reveal the identity of the dancer. But, he added: "Most of them are gone now!"
Bruno is recently said to have informed ‘Strictly’ bosses of his decision to skip this year’s series.
The TV star typically divides his time between the US and the UK, but appearing on both programmes has been made virtually impossible this year due to travel restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
A source recently said: "There is no way to travel back and forth at the moment, so he’s told bosses in the UK that unfortunately he will be staying over there.
"He spends a lot of his time in the States now, and the truth is he does earn a lot more from the US version."