BGT fans want KSI to permanently replace Bruno Tonioli as judge

Yahoo

22-02-2025

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Britain's Got Talent fans have had their say on judge Bruno Tonioli's temporary replacement KSI.
Born Olajide Olatunji, the 31-year-old YouTuber joined Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden on Saturday, 22 February's premiere episode of the 2025 series, where his puppy-dog energy and rapport with the auditionees proved a popular blend with the watching public at home.
Posting on social media as his debut on the ITV1 panel aired, the majority of X users were so onboard with the addition of KSI that they'd even be happy for him to stay full-time.
KSI, who once called for supermarket vigilance over the sale of his energy drink Prime to children, won over almost every single person in the BGT fanbase this weekend - excluding the odd few.
"Watching #bgt for the first time in years just for @KSI I hope they make him a permanent judge," read one tweet, illustrating the influencer's transcendent power.
"Shame ksi isn't full time... Just saying," added another fan.
Ksi so much better than Bruno #BGT
— 𝙶𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗 𝙱𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜 ✨ (@Strudle2807) February 22, 2025
KSI is actually a great judge so far #BGT
— Random Guy (@RandomG65967974) February 22, 2025
Its only been the first audition on so far but I'm already asking … @BGT please have @KSI as a permanent judge next year #BGT #BritainsGotTalent
— Laura-Amy (@laura_amyj) February 22, 2025
#BritainsGotTalent How hilarious is KSI lmfao can we keep him as a full time judge!!!! #Bgt #ksi pic.twitter.com/lJ7BMAOHVq
— Kel Scarlett Blake 🇬🇧 (@blake_scarlett_) February 22, 2025
Can we vote whether we want KSI or Bruno? My vote goes to KSI. ##BGT #BritainsGotTalent
— Honey Bee (@Imtherealanon) February 22, 2025
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It wasn't a clean sweep for the BGT newcomer, though, because there's still a small crowd out there wishing he'd never stepped foot on the show.
"As if they couldn't scrape the barrel even lower. BGT have KSI as a guest judge," shared one person.
Someone else wrote: "Why have they brought in KSI, he is unbearable."
Tonioli, who also judged Strictly Come Dancing for 15 years up until 2019, does indeed return to the BGT panel this series, but his Dancing with the Stars commitments over in the US meant he missed some of the Blackpool-based auditions.
Speaking about the Italian's replacement ahead of the opening episode, co-presenter Dec Donnelly commented: "It's always interesting when somebody new joins the panel for the first time because you see it through their eyes again and that kind of freshness. So he brought that to it. He brought energy, enthusiasm and a really interesting viewpoint.
"He looked at whether acts would work online and go viral, so that was really interesting. He judged in a way that no judge has ever looked at the acts before."
Britain's Got Talent airs Saturdays on ITV1 and ITVX.