‘Strictly Come Dancing’: Bruno Tonioli Gropes Shirley Ballas In First Live Show Of The New Series

New ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ head judge Shirley Ballas had only just made herself comfortable on the judging panel when she got her first taste of fellow judge Bruno Tonioli’s unique way of giving feedback.

Bruno, who is well-known for his expressive arm movements and inability to sit still whilst giving critiques, ended up groping the show’s newest recruit following Alexandra Burke’s first dance.

“Oh, you make me feel so good,” he told Alexandra.

However, in typical Bruno style, he added: “Touchy, feely, so good”, before stroking Shirley’s breast.

Even host Tess Daly was shocked, telling him: “Bruno! What? We are live!”

It didn’t go unnoticed by viewers at home...

Shirley went down a storm with viewers, who gave her a huge thumbs up following her first stint as head judge.

Many praised her style and “constructive criticism”, describing her as the “perfect replacement” for Len Goodman, who left the BBC dance show last year.

Over on the dancefloor, former JLS star Aston Merrygold topped the leaderboard with his stunning Foxtrot, which earned him 31 points.

But it wasn’t such good news for ‘Loose Women’ host Ruth Langsford, whose Waltz with dance partner Anton Du Beke failed to impress, and saw them earn the smallest score of the night.