Ant and Dec played ‘mischievous’ pranks on Bruno Tonioli during his first day at Britain’s Got Talent

Former ‘Strictly’ judge is replacing David Walliams on the judging panel

Ant and Dec have opened up about the “mischievous” way they introduced Bruno Tonioli to the Britain’s Got Talent family.

The ITV talent show returns this weekend, with former Strictly Come Dancing judge Tonioli joining the panel alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon.

Speaking ahead of the series, Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly admitted that, during the first day of auditions, they gave the new judge a number of different rules to confuse him.

“We, quite mischievously, kept telling him different rules,” Donnelly told the PA news agency. “So when he hit his golden buzzer on the first session of the first day, mid-way through an act, we told him not to worry because he had another golden buzzer tomorrow, and that he had one every day.

“We also played a prank on the rest of the judges by going into their room and doing a BGT quiz, but secretly gave Bruno all the answers in advance. That was quite fun to see the look on everyone else’s face.”

McPartlin added: “Much to Simon’s annoyance that somebody else would win a quiz about his show. He quickly worked out it was a prank and didn’t like it! But we loved it.”

Tonioli described joining the show as “meeting up with your friends and having a laugh”. However, he added that he was always nervous before the shows because “I really do care”.

In January, it was announced that Tonioli would be replacing David Walliams on the Britain’s Got Talent judging panel.

Ant and Dec are returning to ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ this April (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

News of Walliams’ replacement comes months after a leaked set recording from 2020 heard the actor and author making sexually explicit comments about a BGT contestant.

A transcript obtained by The Guardian allegedly revealed that Walliams, 51, described a woman as being like “the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t”.

Walliams apologised at the time, telling The Independent: “I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”

A spokesperson for production company Thames TV said: “Although relating to a private conversation almost three years ago, the language used was inappropriate. Even though it was private, those involved have been spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities and the show’s expectations as to future professional conduct.”

Britain’s Got Talent returns Saturday 15 April at 8pm on ITV.

Additional reporting by Press Association