honestly I didnt miss him, claud did great in the tess pit and i think she should stay there, tess needs to go frankly, im sick of her and what was the point of corbett, piss poor short jokes hes been doing for the last 40 years and pretending to phone bruce, do me a favor it was completly pointless and im not sure why they did it.

I'm in the small minority, but I prefer Strictly WITH Bruce.

Last night, for me personally, Strictly felt...different. It felt like there was something lacking, that something wasn't quite right. I don't know if it was Bruce missing, or if Jade and Laila's injuries generally affected the show, but last night wasn't as enjoyable as previous weeks.

Having said that, if/when Bruce does finally stand down, I would fully support Tess and Claudia both doing the show...they both did an excellent job. Claudia, especially, was fantastic during the backstage segments.

I thought Tess was better at reading the autocue than "freestyling" and that Claudia was her usual quirky wonderful self.

I did not miss Bruce one bit. I have to say though I have never been a fan of Bruce and that is putting it nicely. Please let him retire after this series finishes!

So without please!

I do not think the show needs Bruce. Tess, Claudia and Ronnie did a brilliant job last night. Don't forget that it was all thown together sort of last minute.

We also had two injuries (Jade and Laila, hope they can dance next week). This must have added to any stress on the presenters.

I do think that Claudia was fantastic backstage. Tess was okay in her front of house role. But I think it needs an old fashioned entertainer to really carry the show. Ronnie Corbett was a good choice, but I think he should have shared Tess' role, rather than be on the sidelines.

Perhaps Paul O'Grady, Brian Connelly or even Ronnie Corbett could step in when Bruce retires.

better without him he's very over rated.

Tess: Thought she did an OK job. Without Brucie she seemed to come into her "own" and I felt her comments to the dancers were well meant (not just read from an autocue when Bruce does it).

Claudia: Did an absolutely brilliant job. She clearly LOVES her job and I think the dancers get on better with her than Tess. Also, she didnt use cue cards like Tess did which made me like her even more!

Ronnie: What was the point of him being there???? Ridiculous

I never thought I would say this, but I did miss the old codger yesterday evening. Ronnie Corbett was hopeless, he just didn't fit in.

Without and without Ronnie C as well. Be interesting to see these results in poll form.

And old men paired with women young enough to be their granddaughter and making constantly sexist jokes is even worse. Let's make it into the 21st century already.

To answer the OPs question: Brucie

I thought Tess did a good job at short notice but I was surprised to find that I prefer Bruce in the main presenter role. More surprisingly, I prefer Tess backstage to Claudia. Ronnie Corbett added nothing to the show.

Not that I think Bruce is irreplaceable. It just didn't work for me last night.

Show worked well without, I still missed him in parts, interacting the audience.
To me it was is if they did not want to upset Bruce, just waiting for him to get his knighthood and retire.

Ronnie (good mate of Bruce) messed about on purpose
Very funny when he fell down the stairs

I've always thought Lionel Blair or Brian Connelly would get the gig, but may not accept, not until Bruce retires.

Who is the host when it's on tour ?

[quote=Vexed woman;36682671]Show worked well without, I still missed him in parts, interacting the audience.
To me it was is if they did not want to upset Bruce, just waiting for him to get his knighthood and retire.

Ronnie (good mate of Bruce) messed about on purpose
Very funny when he fell down the stairs

I've always thought Lionel Blair or Brian Connelly would get the gig, but may not accept, not until Bruce retires.

Who is the host when it's on tour ?[/QUOTE]

Kate Thornton

[quote=Chris1964;36682807]
Thanks Chris1964
Maybe Dermot will get sacked from X Factor and get that job as well.

My sentiments exactly I thought Tess really came into her own too and IMO we saw a lot more personality from her than when she's playing second fiddle to Bruce.

Claudia was fabulous in the Tesspit, the dancers all know her well from IIT so there was no awkwardness with them like there might have been if they'd drafted someone in completely unconnected with the show. They were all very relaxed back there. AND like you say, she did it with no cue cards!

Definitely WITHOUT! As a child I was a fan of Bruce in the Generation Game but I can't stand him on Strictly. This time, I watched the show on Sunday on Sky+ and didn't have to fast forward once!

I agree with an earlier comment that Claudia maybe should have interviewed sitting down, she moved about too much standing up, but I much preferred Tess without Bruce - she did really well - and Claudia was so natural backstage. Problem is, if Claudia takes over backstage, she probably would leave ITT and I don't know if I could cope with that!

Why Ronnie Corbett?? Why on why? What were the BBC thinking? He was just cringeworthy.

I agree that it needs a showman with Tess. Brian Connelly would be perfect with his musical theatre background. Not sure about someone's suggestion of Lionel Blair - they might set him up exactly like Bruce, it needs somebody more natural.

But definitely glad to see a show without Bruce. Please BBC if you are reading this - let this be his last series.

I preferred without Brucie as well. I actually thought Tess was better out with the judges than she usually is in the back. I loved Claudia, although I think she's slightly bonkers.

Tess was great. End of.

I agree

Been a fan of Brucie since the Generation Game

i know i replied earlier without Brucie but also think instead of his prattling we could have an extra pro dance which would more than make up for his absence

!00% better without Forsyth and would have been 200% better without Corbett.

Tess played a blinder under all sorts of difficult circumstances and Claudia did well too, though I think her quirkiness works better in the more intimate setting of the ITT studio.

Was I the only one that felt the judges seemed to have much more time this week to make more detailed and constructive comments?
Another reason why Saturday's show was so brilliant!

Disagree. Would keep Bruce. They put Ronnie C in there because Tess hasn't got enough professional "weight" nor enough personality to hold a show like that.

Tess was a bit patchy on her own. Ronnie wasn't any less "cringeworthy" than some of Bruce's stuff, but they both have "stardust". As soon as they come on you know you're watching a big budget BBC primetime show.

With Tess on her own it could easily be the weather forecast. (outlook dull and a bit dreary). Claude on the other hand was a tour de force. Amazingly good.

No, you're not the only one. This week they were allowed to finish what they wanted to say rather than being interrupted. A refreshing change.

Some of us have been saying for years that Bruce hogs the limelight when he presents SCD.

Saturday showed us exactly how much airtime he claims for himself on every show. It was lovely to see the focus firmly on the dancers and the judges comments instead of on Mr MeMeMe.

Pension him off now and let Tess and Claudia carry on (and we don't need Ronnie C either!