He made a jokey remark about pant lines showing in tight white trousers, it was Darcie who said commando as the audience was making so much noise they could not hear each other and she misheard him,(that was why he had to explain about the VPL) he then had to make a 2nd joke about not going commando at the BBC, yes it was all a bit laboured but the audience yowling (god knows what at) and Bruce sticking his oar in did not help, Bruce was right in his face when making the "joke" about no one laughing in a way he would not to any of the other males in the competition. it did not seem light hearted to me!

Bruce doesn't like it when contestants ad-lib because he must have the last word and that requires an ad-lib back. Plus the fact Richard was wittering on like a woman about VPL and then the 'commendo' reference came up and Bruce thought it was all a bit too much for Family Entertainment (*takes breath*)

So to sum up: Ad-libs plus crude talk = Bruce disapproval.

Ok fair enough, but I dont think he had to be quite so rude! it was just an off the cuff remark by Richard which got blown out of all proportion by the noise levels, he could have said "ooh that enough of that, this is a family show" or something, he makes jokes about Nancies and Mincing, not my idea of "family entertainment".

Bruce isn't necessarily nasty. But his "act" hasn't adapted the modern era so he can be a bit prudish. Mind you, he can certainly command an audience. Not many can do that these days!

I think Bruce got upset when Darcy and Bruno were talking about "helping" Louis streach his muscles. Bruno volunteered and the panel is getting very open about the fact that Bruno and Craig are gay! There have been more and more comments (Graig, "I got distracted by the male dancers at the back"etc). I cannot remember such obvious comments being made before on Strictly. When Artem danced topless the other week Craig said he could not concentrate! Could cause a lot of questions to be asked by young kids who may be watching.

I can remember a time when the contestants and pro dancers did not talk to the judges, just got criticised and left. Now there is a full conversation going each time the judges criticise a contestant!!!!!!

Oh no, stop the children watching Strictly; they might find out that gay people exist.

I think it's a positive thing that Craig and Bruno have become increasingly open about their sexuality on Strictly. Why should they have to behave any differently from Darcey who openly crushes on Louis (and now Michael, it would seem) and Len who enjoys Kimberley coming up and "flaunting herself" at him.

Exactly. And people should give kids more credit as they are intelligent enough to know that gay people exist. They are brought up in 2012 not 1972.

There's a good chance that kids watching these days will be much less shocked about gay inuendo than their parents or grandparents. And if it does necessitate a "some people are gay" conversation, then Strictly's bantering is a fairly gentle introduction.

Perhaps not shocked by homosexual innuendo, just bored by it.

And Bruce knows a thing or two about that - he suffers it every week that we suffer him.

Bruce was out of order last night - Yes Richard was bantering - so what - what I think needles Bruce is when he is not the centre of attention. I wonder if he was a tad peeved that he wasn't missed last week

Look how long he spends waffling on and telling old dated jokes, which is in turn eating into the programme time

Time for Bruce to go

I'm truly tired of Richard's professional gay-itude.

Not funny.

I'm not sure where this gay innuendo was in anything that Richard was saying, for Bruce to be so shocked and appalled by it.

This is the Bruce incidentally who, when Craig professed to being "distracted" by Artem's Transfixatits, picked up his used paso cape for Craig to mop himself with. I'm not sure he's so bothered by TEH GAYZ as everyone seems to be projecting.

I don't think there was anything especially 'gay' about it. Just his usual tedious and overdone drollery that (and Bruce is right for once) nobody finds remotely amusing.

Well quite. Richard's crappy rehearsed joke bombed (again) and Bruce saved us all from the ensuing awkward silence by making a standard stand-up "well that joke sucked" comment. What Bruno offering to bum Louis has to do with I'm not sure, despite the meanderings of this thread.

It was the battle of the hams.
Who's gonna hog the limelight - Richard or Bruce.
Yeah, Bruce didn't like the competition.

I don't like either of them. But Richard has to make a bid for BBC legitimacy (ahem) or else what was the point of doing this? Gissa job!

Lets' get a few thing straight here.

First of all, Darcey's comment was made in all innocence to Nicky about Karen getting him on the floor to stretch his (possibly) tight hamstrings. Karen caught onto the innuendo immediately and laughed embarrasingly and the crowd began hoo-haaing. Darcey, having re-thought what she said then played along saying "I bet you wouldn't mind doing that" to which Bruce grumpily replied "She's very busy!"

He wasn't so grumpy when, before VPL-gate, he said there was a lady in the audience watching Richard & Erin's routine with a pair of binoculars and that she was not watching the dancing at all. Different strokes methinks.

Secondly, on the subject of the panel being more open about Bruno & Craig, has it really increased this series? Craig has been referring to the male contestants, dancers and Bruce as "dahling" from when I can remember and Bruno cannot hide his salivation and goes into pouting overdrive when it comes to male contestants/dancers he fancies. "Scottttttttttttttttttt" springs immediately to mind.

As for Richard, while he can be funny (loved his "We're gonna be on the internet forever!") he doesn't help himself because he doesn't know when to stop playing to the crowd. Though Bruce was a little brutal, Richard's attempts at humour were falling flat all over the place last night. It even happened in Tesspit and Aliona & Kristina just ended up looking at him as if to say: "Oh please, just shut the f--- up, you're embarassing yourself!"

I saw that ! Ola too, they all looked like

Even if Richard's joke was rubbish it does not excuse Bruce's manner to him- it was rude

I think that's the point about Richard though: he's one of these people whose embarrassment threshhold is so far in advance of just about everybody else's that it almost appears he hasn't got one.

Useful enough I suppose for a celebrity journo but it can - and has - made for some cringe-inducing telly for the rest of us.

Fair point.

Bruce even went to use a word beginning "fa..." before stopping himself.

Could it have been "faggot"??

Richard's attempts at being the centre of attention needed reigned in and Bruce managed to do it rather well I thought.

I think you're getting overexcited. I really don't think Bruce is homophobic. Some of the comments on this thread, on the other hand, are verging on it.

I doubt that Bruce understands what either VPL or Commando means.