Poor old thing. Has his first week off sick in I don't know how long, and finds that the mate he lined up as a stand in with a view to being a permanent replacement goes down like a lead balloon. Meanwhile, token office tottie (who he probably thought wouldn't be more than OK) does a storming turn, and the mad woman from the office next door complements her so well that nobody wants to see him back - or his suggested replacement! And he thought he was probably irreplaceable too.

Hope he gets well soon, and is back with us soon, but dear BBC - please consider retiring him next year and letting us have the Tess / Claudia combo.

I would've said the opposite after last nights shambolic programme, the only redeeming thing was Claud, Tess is just not up to it full stop.

I don't care for Bruce at all...but I think the Tess hype on the evidence of one no better than competent show is a little out-of-control.

Didn't think I'd say this but I actually prefer the normal arrangement of Bruce presenting and Tess backstage. I don't mind Claudia on ITT (I think the programme works well) but didn't really like her on the main programme. I guess I might be out of step with the majority though.

I agree. Brucie bricking it ?..if he was watching last night, he must have been laughing his socks off.
That's not to say Brucie is irreplaceable, he's not..but he certainly couldn't be replaced by Tess.
Claudia..maybe. However, I'm not sure she would want the job of hosting the show..her strength lies in amusing commentary, quick witted comments, sly little asides. I think she might be wasted as the front person.

Brucie bricking it, I don't think so somehow.

I dont see why he should be 'bricking it'; he's loveable and in any case has said he will not be coming back next year (or so I am led to believe) so there is no problem is there?

Get well soon Brucie and lets be having more of those corny puns of yours.

I totally agree.

What I found enjoyable last night was that the show concentrated on the dancers and the dancing, and Tess did so well at being the main presenter but without taking over as Bruce can do. I thought it was so refreshing not to have the asides and jokes and to be able to listen to the judges without interuptions. I much prefer the show this way.

In turn Claudia did brilliantly and between her and Tess I liked the show much better. Frankly I had not been enjoying this series at all as Bruce was constantly annoying me and I often found myself thinking 'just shut up FGS' - last night I just watched and enjoyed. I wish it could always be that way.

I have said this on another thread but, please put a list of who is able to joke, dance, sing and present to the (yes!) quality of Bruce? Not many around. One thing for sure, he does occupy 15 - 20 minutes of the show.

Get well soon Bruce

I agree and would add that Tess has proved herself to be a good presenter what was wrong with her is she isn't a great interviewer. Claudia of course is as anyone watching ITT knows but tonight she had an opportunity to demonstrate this to a wider audience. I think it would be great if the beeb keep the arrangment tonight and got someone like Gethin to do ITT possibly - they won't because Tess isn't a name like Brucie but they should.

Well I actually quite enjoyed someone doing the presenting without the joking, dancing and singing. This show is not actually about Bruce, and last night was a very refreshing change. Dx

Precisely. My only alteration would have been to put the word "joking" in inverted commas.

Why does the presenter have to do all those? They are there to front the show, not show how they are a jack of all trades and master ... well you know the rest. But:

Bruce's jokes are a joke in themselves - cringeworthy and appallingly delivered. So bad he has to appeal for applause.

Sing - OMG, I suppose he is marginally better than Andy Williams

Dance - admittedly brilliant ... FOR HIS AGE

Present? Anyone who can read an autocue (which he can't do) can present better.

Taking out his 20 minutes would make the show much sharper - have a look at the thresd on Strictly 2010 changes

Tess was fantastic. I was delighted not to have to ENDURE Bruce's gags.
She was natural, professional and presented rather than took the limelight herself.

Claudia was OK. A few fluffs.

Corbett was utterly unnecessary.

That line-up (sans Corbett) would do fine for me.

Yes - most of the joking singing dancing etc he does is just to keep the focus on him - and I for one was happy to see just how well the show ran without him.

The Tess/ Claudia combination (the less said about Ronnie C the better!) proved once and for all that the show is bigger than he is. It made a very refreshing change to see the focus firmly on the dancing couples and the judges (uninterrupted) comments.

Here's hoping he is still sick next week so we can have more of the same!

I dont think Bruce is bricking it, I bet he's grateful to have had a career in television for as long as he has. If he was female he'd have been retired 30 years ago. He is a legend, but a legend who now should retire. In my opinion he would be better replaced by someone like Craig Doyle or Gethin Jones.

It needs somebody who can compere, not tell "jokes" so bad that the audience has to be embarrassed into laughing.

There's a guest spot for somebody to sing.

There are 16 professional dancers on the show. It doesn't need a presenter who tries their hand.

Last night showed that Brucie is surplus to requirements.

Agree he is like a week old loaf of Bread, well past it's sell by date.

You actually think Ronnie was lined up to replace Bruce in the future????? Classic!

Dump Tess and it'll all be fine

Someone should do a poll on this.

If he has real, genuine Influenza, he'll be feeling far too ill to care about anything other than surviving....

Exactly,he is a consummate entertainer and has the ability (which Tess is very obviously lacking) to think on his feet and ad lib. Can you imagine how Tess would have handled Mark and Karen's microphone disaster,panicked rabbit in the headlights look while waiting for emergency instructions in her earpiece.
Think she was well and truly shown up by Claudia last night IMO.

I agree, I felt Claudia tried a bit too much to be funny. Bruce is not bricking it. Remember he is a multi-millionaire and doesn't have to do the show. He just does it because he loves dancing and this type of entertainment and his job is safe on SCD until He decides to retire.

It was the best Strictly for years, in my opinion, and would have been miles better if they hadn't brought in Brucie's equally narcissistic MiniMe Corbett.

It demonstrated that what Strictly needs is a competent, pleasant presenter rather than a bombastic personality.
The judges had more time to judge as there weren't many cringing, time wasting 'jokes' , and even though circumstances were difficult, Tess sailed through in a very calm, professional manner.
Can anyone imagine how crotchety Bruce would have got faced with the same situations?

The whole programme had a much more goodnatured feel about it, the focus was on the dancing, and with one (small) exception, everyone worked as a team.

Brilliant - what a shame it took an illness to give us the programme many of us would like to see every week.

They ought to give Bruce a little prerecorded show somewhere in the nether reaches of prime time where he can exercise his alleged 'qualities' rather than messing up their flagship Saturday show.

I want a presenter to present the dancers, not an attention seeker to complete with them for the time available.

Bruce is not a dancer, he's not a singer, he's not a comedian.
Haven't you heard the saying 'Jack of all trades, master of none'?
He's a now washed up variety turn who's only evident 'quality' is being unable to read an autocue.