It was far better without him. I don't wish him ill in any way, but please, could his doctor keep him in his sick bed for a few weeks longer?

Much better without him, although could have also done without Ronnie. Claudia was fab and even found myself quite liking Tess last night, which is a first for me!

Never been a Brucie fan, so obvious answer for me is without. I normally can't stand Tess, but she did a great job out front, and I loved Claudia in the Tesspit, would be happy for the show to remain that way. Why they had to spoil it with Ronnie C, now he was cringe worthy.

Totally agree! A real challenge to Tess imo.

I missed Brucie last night. Tess would have been better off supporting Ronnie Corbett playing the role of 'Inexperienced Expert' and letting a little more humour into the proceedings imho. Tess didn't seem up to the job.

I remember when the show started saying to my wife - "so, they've got Tess doing Bruce's job, Claudia doing Tess's job and Ronnie to tell the bad jokes?"

That said, I was surprised at how competent Tess was at the front of house job (though I remain to be convinced that she's got what it takes to do a full series) and of course Claudia was an absolute diamond in the green room. As for poor Ronnie, much as I love him, I suspect he was only brought in so that no rumours would start that the BBC were using Bruce's absence to audition replacements if/when he retires.

Either that or he was brought in so that the girls didn't have to do that little dance at the start together, which would probably put it back to after the watershed

The general consensus of opinion is that the show is better without Bruce then. I so wish the Beeb would take note

much better without him i actually enjoyed this weeks show for the first week in ages!!

must have been cause bruce was not there i guess ?

Tess without Bruce sounded like one of those girls at parties who constantly witter on, but most of it goes over your head.

Like many of you I was really surprised at what a great job Tess did last night. Claudia was absolutely wonderful. I really enjoyed the show last night without Bruce, it seemed to flow better without the constant 'me, me, me' of Bruce. It was more about the dancing, which of course is what it should be about. I hadn't been enjoying this series much but now I realise that was down to Bruce because it seemed everyone else could relax and get on with their jobs - everything was better. I wish the Tess/Claudia combo was here to stay, I am now rather dreading Bruce's return.

RC was pointless. I also noticed him in the audience several times when the camera wasn't officially on him and he was just sitting there while everyone around him was clapping - I think that said it all.

Tess/Claudia for keeps please!

I missed him, certainly we could do without Tess

I enjoyed the show much better without Bruce and I could certainly have done without Ronnie.......Tess (I am not a huge fan) was perfectly professional and less of a pain with scripted lines.....Claudia was perfect in the back with just the required amount of fun of empathy.......The BBC needs to learn that they really dont need an ageing comic to present scd

The only thing that was odd was the introduction of the couples as Tess only said their first names and it didnt quite time right with the music.

It was unfortunate that Tess had to take over on a night when there was so much drama behind the scenes but I could certainly manage without Bruce thanks very much.

I missed Bruce last night. I think without him the show lacks a lot of sparkle and fun and a lot of it's special quality. Without Bruce it was just another TV programme.

If we can do without anyone, for me it has to be the wooden and unspontaneous Tess, I'm sorry.

Without Bruce. I could have done without Ronnie too, the bit with him on the phone to Bruce seemed very forced.

Claudia was brilliant backstage and Tess was far better in Bruce's role than she is in her normal role. The show did lack a bit of sparkle, but I think that was due to the low standard of dances and all the drama, rather than anything to do with Bruce's absence.

hmmmmm its a night like that, that give producers a real feel of what if would be like to have a Brucie free series. Considering it was all very last minute, Tess did a good job up front and Claudia was very good backstage.. she is such a nutter anyway, the dancers seems to adore her. I still think should he be replaced, they would still go for a man woman combo, as opposed to two women, and while not meaning this badly at all, its just a logical scenario, I really don't think they would want to be in the middle of a series or just about to start a series and have Brucie shuffle off to his eternal rest !!!! So much goes into the preparation of these shows that they could not afford to have to call it to a halt.

I sense CVs being flicked through as we speak !

I thought Tess did a great job last night, and Claudia was brilliant too. I was laughing out loud at her racoon comment which is a first for this show as I normally just raise the odd smile.

I agree. It's actually the first week I haven't used the Mute button!

I thought Tess and Claudia did very well. Tess is much better working from autocue than being spontaneous and I think Claudia's rapport with the dancers shone through (I've really come round to her this series).

Ronnie Corbett was utterly pointless. I was fully expecting the guest host to be James Jordan following his very good job of reporting from Blackpool for ITT last week.

Brucie is of course a showbiz legend but without him, the programme was more about the dancing than about the host.

Well, last night certainly lost some "sparkle". How much of that was down to the loss of Brucie..I don't know.
Bruce is very experienced, like Wogan and other old pros he has been there and done it countless times. That must count for something on a live show.
I'm afraid Tess proved nothing to me, she still looks like a pretty conjurer's assistant taking over the show..a slightly more intelligent version of the "The lovely Debbie McGee".
Claudia was great..as always. I love her little asides, rehearsed or not, she is still clever and witty.

Surely the only people who regret Brucie's absence are Duracell as the lack of muting and FFWDing led to a dramatic drop in their sales.

Most emphatically WITHOUT!!!!

Tess surprised me and did very well, I thought. Claudia was fabulous, of course. I think she may have been put backstage partly because Tess already knows the Bruce role backwards so it would be easier for her to slot in at the last minute. It certainly proved that either of the women would be excellent replacements for Bruce (please, please PLEASE make it soon!).

The bit at the end with the diminutive elderly man with his eyes at breast-height in between two women young enough to be his granddaughters was utterly repulsive. Get rid of these old duffers - they are NOT required!!! What's wrong with having attractive people presenting television programmes?!

My word thats a "light the blue touchpaper" comment these days.
I dont have any problem with attractive people or otherwise as long as they bring something to the party so to speak.
Bruce is a legend, a status that the lovely Tess and Claudia will never attain despite their bubbly and winning peronalities. I think Bruce, and Bruce alone, will decide when he goes-though I suspect it will be sooner rather than later.
As for who eventually takes over-I bet the BBC make the wrong choice.

Double post

I didn't enjoy last nights show as much as I usually do. Not sure if that was because Bruce was missing or because I felt so sorry for Jade

I didn't really miss him, but I didn't see the point of Ronnie being there to be honest (I do like him, but his role was a bit pointless)

I thought Tess and Claudia did fine, Claudia cracks me up!

I somehow suspect that my comment would be less controversial if I were suggesting getting rid of an 81 year old female presenter.

It's a visual medium and part of a presenter's role is to present an appealing and pleasant image. Old men being pundits on political shows is fine with me. Old men presenting glitzy Saturday night televsion is not.