Simon Cowell has shed light on his reaction to Bruno Tonioli breaking a rule on the latest season of Britain’s Got Talent.
The incident occurred during the season premiere on Saturday, April 15, when Tonioli, known for his role as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, hit the golden buzzer for Ugandan dance act Ghetto Kids before their performance had even concluded.
Cowell, who is the creator of BGT and also serves as a judge, shared his thoughts on the incident in an exclusive interview with Mail Online.
“Well, that was pretty quick! It was the second or third day,” Cowell recalled with laughter. “I was thinking, ‘You definitely haven’t watched the show, have you?’ But then I realised, ‘Actually, this is brilliant because it has never happened before.’”
According to Cowell, neither the act nor he himself seemed to mind the rule being broken, as everyone was simply thrilled for the dance troupe.
“And just looking at Bruno’s face, he was happy,” Cowell said.
When someone pointed out to Tonioli that he was supposed to hit the golden buzzer at the end of the performance, the Strictly Come Dancing judge was mortified. However, Cowell reassured him, saying, “It doesn’t matter, Bruno. You just gave them the golden buzzer. Who cares?”
Tonioli explained that he had been so captivated by the act that he felt compelled to press the golden buzzer. “Now, I hold my hands up, I realize now I was supposed to wait until after they’d performed to press it! I just felt it in my bones and went for it!” he said.
Despite Tonioli’s reputation for being stern as a judge, Cowell was actually amused by the situation. “Honestly, I had no idea. Nobody really ever explained that process to me. All I knew was I had a golden buzzer, but they never told me when I was supposed to press it!” Tonioli revealed in an interview on Lorraine that he had never watched BGT before, so he was not familiar with the etiquette of the golden buzzer.
In addition to pressing the golden buzzer during the performance, Tonioli also mistakenly pressed the red buzzer at the end of the act, rather than during the performance. Fortunately for Tonioli, it was only the first weekend of the season, so he has plenty of episodes left to get the hang of it.
Overall, Cowell seemed to take the rule-breaking incident in stride and found humour in the situation. “I was laughing my head off,” he said.
Cowell’s lenient response and Tonioli’s genuine remorse over the mistake demonstrate the camaraderie among the BGT judges and the lighthearted nature of the show. With more episodes to come, viewers can look forward to more surprises and golden buzzer moments on Britain’s Got Talent.
