Ooh, great choice. I don't mind Bruce too much, although i've started to notice a more cantankerous side to him this year, or maybe i've only lately started paying attention. But usually the alternatives suggested have been rubbish and only made Bruce's shoes seem harder to fill but Rob Brydon could do it comfortably. Can't see him agreeing to it but it would be brilliant!

It's great to have so many of you agreeing. I think Rob would look fab in a tux ... and compared to those buttock-clenchingly dire song and dance routines Bruce gets to do, we'd at least have a bit of fun with Rob doing some singing.

Also I don't think he's a dancer so he could concentrate on being an entertaining presenter without a) showing off that he knows how to do shuffle ball change or b) sticking his oar in generally. He doesn't give the air of someone who takes himself too seriously and that would be a very welcome breath of fresh air. Bruce behaves like Princess Michael of Kent to be honest.

Rob Brydon is a pretty inspired choice, alright. He's hilarious, but also has the skills to tailor his material to his audience. He wouldn't turn SCD into a comedy show, but he could lighten the atmosphere and make it extremely entertaining.

I've just suggested Michael Ball on another thread. He likes the show, he seems quite quick witted, he's used to performing in front of an audience, and he's extremely likable. He doesn't have presenting experience (that I know of), but I think he'd be well able to host SCD.

Thinking more on this ... and I'm liking the Michael Ball idea quite a lot actually although Rob B would be my first choice.

Theoretical situation. What would be the reaction if word got out that the BBC were sounding people out about being Bruce's replacement? At the moment a large number of us are pretty unimpressed by how woeful things are, but presumably they wouldn't tell Bruce he was surplus to requirements without having a fairly good idea about where to turn next? I can just see the headlines about more ageism, more BBC bad management and who knows what else.

I'm just worried that they would not have the bottle to replace him ... and that could be sounding a death knell for the series in the not very long term. The Arlene/Alesha debacle could have scared them off changing anything else.

Rob Brydon and Michael Ball are inspired choices.

Would possibly go with Michael over Rob, but would be afraid of him trying to get it on with the the gay male pros backstage. . allegedly!

I thought he was already on it, dancing with Laila :-P

Whilst I love Rob Brydon in Gavin & Stacey, I think that Aled would be a good choice as he has been on the show, he knows the judges so will have a good rapport with them. He does have a good sense of humour and can present.