BRUCE FORSYTH
The quintessential entertainer, Bruce was born in London in 1928, and started his career as a child in theatre but didn’t hit the big time until 1958 when he was hosted the weekly television variety show Sunday Night At The London Palladium. His career went from strength to strength, and in the 1970’s he hosted the extremely popular gameshow The Generation Game, and went on to present others, including You Bet! and Play Your Cards Right. After an appearance as guest host on BBC panel show Have I Got News For You, his career was revitalised and led to discussions with producers about bringing a variety inspired programme back to family Saturday night viewing, and Strictly Come Dancing was born!
Bruce’s catchphrases have become legendary, and in presenting Strictly Come Dancing, he’s not only brought some of them out of retirement, he’s also added a couple more! From the opening “Nice to see you, to see you … NICE”, and “I’m in charge!”, we now have the heartwarming “You’re my favourites” said to celebrities who’ve just received a mauling from the judges, and the closing farewell, when along with Tess we’re all told to, “Keep dancing!”
In addition to his famous catchphrases, Bruce is never one to shy away from the opportunity to remind us of his roots, so we’re often treated to occasional impromptu demonstrations of steps, as well as a song and dance routine at some point during the final.
As a stalwart of British entertainment, Bruce was awarded the OBE in 1998 and the CBE in 2006, and in 2008 received the highest accolade given by the British Academy of Film and Television at their annual awards (BAFTA’s), the Academy Fellowship.