He’s previously said how much he’d like to see her battle it out on the dance floor as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
But Strictly judge Bruno Tonioli seemed to brand Cheryl a ‘f***ing b***h’ in an appearance on Keith Lemon’s Celebrity Juice on Thursday evening.
The gaffe came during a game of Celebrity Dogging, where host Keith, the fictional character played by comedian Leigh Francis, does impressions as his celeb pals sit in a car and work out who he is pretending to be.
Shocking: Strictly judge Bruno Tonioli (left) seemed to brand Cheryl a ‘f***ing b***h’ in an appearance on Keith Lemon’s Celebrity Juice on Thursday evening
While imitating ITV presenter Holly Willoughby, Keith said: ‘You’re amazing, it’s amazing, I have a wonderful life, it’s so amazing.’
In guessing that the impersonation was of the Newcastle-born Girls Aloud songstress, Bruno, 61, said: ‘Who’s that f***ing b***h? Oh god, Cheryl Cole?’
Co-host Fearne Cotton was the player to guess correctly, recognising her pal Holly’s voice in Keith’s rough impersonation – but both she and guest Chris Ramsey looked shocked at Bruno’s outburst.
Outburst: The gaffe came during a game of Celebrity Dogging, where host Keith (back left) does impressions as his celeb pals sit in a car and work out who he is pretending to be
Fearne, whose glittering career has included stints on Top of the Pops and Radio 1, held a hand to her mouth in disbelief at Bruno’s harsh branding.
The blunt language may come as some surprise to Bruno’s fans, since just last summer he spoke about how much he would enjoy seeing Cheryl, 34, take part in Strictly.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Bruno said: ‘I would like to see Cheryl on it. Why not? She is a nice girl, she would be good value.’
Bruno’s blunt language may come as some surprise, since just last year he said how much he would enjoy seeing Cheryl, 34 (pictured in London in September), battling it out on Strictly
Not a fan: Even before his foul-mouthed jibe on Celebrity Juice, Cheryl (left) – who is celebrating first time parenthood with her beau Liam Payne (right, in 2016) – wasn’t very complimentary about Strictly, claiming X Factor is better because it ‘changes people’s lives’
Giggling: Bruno’s blunt language after guessing that Keith was doing an impression of Cheryl (when in fact it was Holly Willoughby) left Chris Ramsey laughing in shock
But even before his foul-mouthed jibe on Celebrity Juice, Cheryl – who is celebrating first time parenthood alongside her beau Liam Payne with their son Bear – wasn’t very complimentary about the dance competition.
Back when she was a judge on X Factor in 2014, the Fight For This Love hit-maker told the Sunday People: ‘Strictly is only about celebs dancing and, at the end of it, all someone gets is to walk off with a glitterball. But on X Factor you are changing people’s lives.’
Strictly and the X Factor have been embroiled in rivalry ever since they started being aired on the same prime time Saturday night slots on BBC and ITV respectively.
Back to work: She gave birth to Bear in March this year and was strutting her stuff on the Paris Fashion Week runway by October