Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli won't be able to judge the show as usual this week, but he is set to leave his judging seat in safe hands. On Sunday, the 62-year-old Italian choreographer announced that Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton Banks in 90s hit show Fresh Prince of Bel Air, will be covering for him as a judge. Alfonso won season nineteen of Dancing with the Stars, which is the American version of Strictly.
© Photo: Getty ImagesAlfonso Ribeiro will step in for Bruno this weekend
The actor got to show off some iconic moves in his role as Carlton, with the aptly named 'Carlton Dance' during his time on the show. TV fans might also recognise Alfonso from the 2013 series of I'm A Celebrity, which was eventually won by Westlife singer Kian Egan. This is the second time Bruno has given up his Strictly judging duties for a week, after he did it for the first time in 2017, which landed on Halloween weekend. The news was confirmed on Sunday night's show when it was announced that Katie Piper and her dance partner Gorka Marquez were voted off from the competition.
MORE: Strictly's Katya Jones breaks Twitter silence as she and Seann Walsh are saved
Katie and Gorka were up against Charles Venn and Karen Clifton in the dance off. They danced the Jive to Why Do Fools Fall In Love in a bid to impress the judges and remain in the competition, but they unanimously decided to put Charles and Karen through after their Salsa to Use It Up and Wear It Out. Katie reacted by saying: "I have taken a lot from this experience and it has all been really positive, and I'll never forget this journey," before adding: "I feel really privileged to have been here and thanks for your advice and thank you [Gorka] for all the hours!"
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
