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Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli rubbishes show curse insisting contestants are to blame for their own marriage breakdowns
STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli has rubbished the infamous "curse" insisting celebrities marriages will only break if they're racked to begin with.
The BBC One dancing competition has seen viewers blame a so-called curse for the breakdowns of the marriages of multiple contestants and dancers.
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Countless contestants like Louise Redknapp, Ben Cohen and Georgia May Foote have suffered heartbreak during the show and seen their relationships crumble - with each one being blamed for The Curse.
But Bruno - who is promoting a new - isn't convinced the show can be blamed.
"Oh come on," he laughed when asked about the curse.
"Listen if there's a crack there it will cause a fissure, regardless, it's nothing to do with that.
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"It's about life, because the show goes on for three months so it's got nothing to do with Strictly, it's to do with the fact that things happen in life.
"When you take three months of your life in front of the screen, if anything happens it will become part of it, but it's not because of Strictly.
He added: "If something's solid to start with it will retain solidity and if there's a crack there then maybe it will become like a great big avalanche.
"It's not going to go away but it's not because of Strictly."
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And the dancing judge even joked that he's all for romance between the couples if it helps their dancing.
Speaking about spotting the chemistry of certain couples, he laughed: "I'm not looking for eroticism, but if it makes the dance appear better then I'm all for it.
"I don't care, I absolutely have nothing against it - it's part of life.
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"But I'm always looking at the dances and certain dances do require an element of sensuality and obviously if there is some sort of underlying frisson, it becomes enhanced.
"But you can do that by acting, it doesn't have to be there for real.
"If it happens, it happens, what's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with that."
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With Strictly at the top of its game, winning record ratings for the last series, Bruno revealed that some celebs do try and get him to put a good word in to get them on the show - but he also declines to protect his impartiality as a judge.
He said: "We don't have any say on who competes, and quite rightly so because it would become a personal involvement.
"So I always say well these are the channels, get your agent to call the BBC and that is that.
"But I never personally get involved into suggesting people and if I hear anything then I just pass on and say call production.
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"You don't want to get that kind of personal involvement because you have to keep your character as a judge very much apart from the competitors."
He also hit back at viewers who complain about their favourite contestants being eliminated by the judges after landing in the dance off from the public vote.
"With the judges there are no ulterior motives with us - we don't care who wins or doesn't, we only really talk about what's presented in front of us.
"It makes no difference to me who wins, we honestly have no ulterior motives but to maybe direct the audience to what we see."
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He added: "The thing with Strictly is there is nothing we can do, we can only comment, hopefully our comments will touch and inspire the audience to do one thing or another.
"We only give a score - that is what we do. But you also have to respect the fact that the audience have their idea - they may agree or they may not but that's it, that's the game.
"There are people who I felt, personally, in the past, could have carried on longer but at the end of the day if the audience don't vote for them then there is nothing I can do about it and we have to accept that.
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"That's why the dance off sometimes becomes a bit controversial but I always say if they ended up in the bottom two it's because you didn't vote for them."
Throughout the show's time on television, there has been a rivalry with ITV's the X Factor, with the show's going head-to-head in the ratings.
But over the last few years Strictly has triumphed with a steady judging panel and sometimes double the viewing figures of its rival - and for Bruno that's down to one thing - honesty.
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He said: "It really is a show that has a truthful heart. It really is incredibly honest, we all love what we do, there is great passion going into the show and people get it.
"They feel the warmth, the heart, the sense of fun, the sense of inspiration you get from it. Honesty never fails."
He also spoke warmly of his fellow judges, Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Darcey Bussell.
He said: "I adore them, I absolutely adore them and it is the real truth. Darcy, Craig, Shirley, we really get on very very well. We really have a laugh.
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"We're all nice people, we don't have all of this rivalry and bitchiness.
"We're all in it for the show, we all know what our character is, we all know the role we have to play and we know each other so well by now.
"It really is like that, and I'm not making this up, it's not a line, no-one tells me what to say. They're really nice people."
But he does admit that occasionally there are heated moments where they fall out - but it never descends into screaming matches.
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"We've all been in the industry since the 70s, for 40 years.
"We all knew each other before, we know what we do.
"We know what we're talking about and it's the reason there is never a moment we try to score points about each other or about the show, and if there is anything we are grown up enough to say, 'Oi mate, what the f***?'
"I'm very straight forward, I'm not one of those to beat about the bush, if there is anything I will just say it to them immediately, and professionally.
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"There is none of that backstabbing bitchiness, none of that."
The show's success has seen everyone on the team work even harder to try and improve it each year and meet the audience's expectations.
Bruno explained of the show's success: "I don't take it for granted, none of us do. You never rest on your laurels.
"In fact the more successful the show becomes, the more you have to evolve to the expectations and the harder you have to work.
"That's why a lot of things, when people become too comfortable, and too grand, I think they lose contact with reality and with the public.
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"And you have to remember you're there because of them and you have to deliver to them, and you have to keep working harder."
And with the show going on for so long, 15 years and counting, there are entire series which some fans haven't heard of, let alone seen.
And so Bruno is bringing out a DVD, Strictly Come Dancing - Bruno's Bellissimo Blackpool, which features all his favourite dances from since the first show.
"This really is a treat," he said.
"What it really is is the best of Blackpool, over 15 years, the best most incredible moments of this stage of 15 years of Strictly.
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We've been going for a very long time so there are people who may not be aware of dances and things that happened back then.
"There's a lot of stuff that the younger fans may have never seen and this is an occasion to rediscover the show from its origins.
"It is a celebration of the magic that happens when we go to Blackpool, there's something in this room that somehow ignites the performers, they always excel here - there's something in here that you cannot replicate.
"It's very special and the DVD will never be shown on television so it's only for personal use. With all these really special moments. It's a treat."
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He added: "We tried to give a good balance of the good, the bad and the ugly because that's what Strictly is all about.
"It's about the whole experience. We go through classic Jill Halfpenny for example back in the day to the great balls of fire of Ed Balls.
"The wonderful beauty of Abby Clancy to the absolutely hysterical Julian Clary's Samba that some of the youngest audience have never seen. It's hysterical, you're just going to cry.
Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli falls off his chair while giving feedback to Gemma Atkinson
"You'll see a history of Strictly too - it's been 15 years, it's incredible.
"Watching it it felt like yesterday, it's still as entertaining and as fresh as it was 15 years ago."
Strictly Come dancing -
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