What an absolutely disastrous performance tonight by Bruce.


Excruciating, embarrassing, confusing - and so on.


He did make a very revealing statement very early on when he said he was 'just rambling again'. Would that he did - and ramble off into the sunset.


As for the puerile skit of a 'striptease'; does he realise how utterly ridiculous he looked. One can only sympathise with all of those lively octogenarians around the country who are being embarrassed by his antics.


He has to be told that it is not and never was the Bruce Forsyth show.


The show works well in other countries without him, (do they realise how lucky they are?), so he is not essential as some posters have at times suggested.

Very harsh Grumpy_Alan, however, dear Bruce is beginning to look like retirement and putting his feet up might be a good option!

Harsh it may be but so, so true. I had to turn off the sound and look away when BF did that excrutiating "strip". Why do the producers let him get away with it?

Harsh and unkind though it maybe, I find Bruce a terrible distraction who completely ruins the flow of the show. He cuts through the exciting and fun atmosphere with a knife. It has been even more noticeable since the week with Tess/Claudia when it did seem to flow better. It's such a shame but, in my opinion, he totally spoils it for me now.

Gill, wait till the next time when the strip is actually carried out.

He is deluded sadly. I used to find him very funny and excellent at ad libs on the Generation Game but these days he falls back on repitive comments after his jokes fail, like "Shut up!", "Think about it!", "I thought it was funny" etc. If he thinks he is adored and some kind of icon and that will make up for his awfulness, he couldn't be more wrong as far as I am concerned. He spoils the show for many people, it seems.

For all the criticism Forsyth gets on here the BBC keep him on... Even though he doesn't do the Sunday show and has even started taking a mid-season "break"

Why is that?

Because the BBC know Sir Bruce is still a HUGE drawer with the masses and the show will almost certainly finish as soon as Bruce leaves it.

That said, I do worry that one of these days he's going to collapse on live telly like his friend Tommy Cooper did, so for him personally I wish he would stop, but when he does it will almost certainly be the end of SCD.

Well I thought he was as good as ever last night but... I did think the striptease was a bit misguided though and when he got stuck in the hanging things.

First time ever I have noticed a slight look of panic in Tess' eyes when he went on about the lights on the floor. Bruce says he will knows when its time to go so I hope it was the first thing he said to himself at the end of last nights show. If he goes on I can really see them having to stop transmission one night.

For those not aware of Tommy Cooper, from Wikipedia: "On 15 April 1984, Cooper collapsed and soon after died from a heart attack in front of millions of television viewers, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television variety show Live From Her Majesty's, transmitted live from Her Majesty's Theatre. His stage persona required that his act intentionally went wrong for comic purposes, leading to some initial uncertainty about whether this collapse was real."

I have wondered what the BBC has as a contingency plan if something medical were to happen live on Sat night to Bruce. With DWTS, when Marie Osmond fainted, I believe they went to a commercial break. Thoughts? I would not have brought this up, but last night was a bit alarming.

As well, given the VT with Denise falling, I have wondered what they would do if a dancer did have a live accident, given the younger viewers watching. We have seen slips up the stairs, and people dancing injured, but not a live injury. Sorry, not trying to be a downer, but last night got me thinking along these lines.....
Last edited by BelgoLift : 25-11-2012 at 15:41

Well said the lady from Winchester. It is possible to overact, to demand too much limelight. Sir Bruce is trying too hard, as if trying to prove --

"Nice to see me,
to see me nice"

Roughly translated as: "Look, at age 84 I can still do it".

I thought he was genuinely muddled and confused by the lights on the floor. When he then grabbed Tess for their normal walk down the steps, he said something like "This time I really need it". I reckon he was needing her for physical support.

Sadly, I think it has now gone past the point of excruciating, it is now downright alarming. Two or three years ago there was a whole fuss about why he hadn't got a knighthood and he got that as the whole nation seemingly still loved him. If the producers don't do something this whole sorry thing is going to put a real blight on the memory of a loved entertainer, and he will be remembered for not knowing when it was time to give up, which will be very sad, as he was good at the height of his career (although IMO always a little delusional about how much of a superstar he actually was). Agree with previous poster, you do worry for him about a meltdown or worse on live tv. His family/friends/producers have to sort this out pronto.

What utter rubbish

Why would it be the end - as pointed out elsewhere the show runs in other countries without Bruce, and seemed to run just fine 2 weeks ago without him.

I thought most people tune in to watch the celebrities and professional dancers not Bruce. It is time he went

I completely agree with OP.

Brucie is NOT "a HUGE drawer with the masses " (sic)

If it was down to him, the Strictly wouldnt be a success ANYWHERE without him. No "Dancing with the Stars", - ANYWHERE.

All it needs is a competent compere - because, Brucie is NOT "the star of our show"

JJ

He should do us a favour an go rather than be pushed. He seems to be getting nasty with some of his comments. I felt very sorry for Tess he really pulled her and must have hurt her not mentioning the puerile striptease or the babbling about the floor. Last night he was awful

Don't be so Grumpy Alan. He's a national treasure who should be preserved in a jar.

Sir Bruce - "Mr Show business" himself - gets betterer every week. Long live Mr Saturday night!!

His wife must watch the programme at home and see how dire he has become. She needs to tell him to stop, now before he makes a complete idiot of himself. I'd tell my husband

Its an occupational hazard with great comedians - Kenneth Horne and Sid james both went on a stage too and Eric Morecambe had a fatal heart attack as he walked off after curtain call.

Brucie's problem is that many people don't understand irony or parody so they are confused and can't tell the difference when Bruce is muddled and rambling, and when Bruce is pretending to be muddled and rambling to get an extra laugh, and when his script writers have written him lines as muddled and rambling. He's still very sharp when something unexpected happens. The jokes that don't work tend to be the ones written for him (although they are better thsi series) and they can cover him having problems with reading the autocue a bit longer by just letting Tess do it more.

Who else is there?

Graham Norton?, Paul O'Grady ?

Bruce is from an old school song & dance background so he brings some background knowledge plus his years of live TV experience are a cushion in case something does go wrong.

Anyone who doesn't believe you need live TV experience... 2 words... Ortis Deeley !!

Terry Wogan hosted Come dancing many moons ago, and has live TV in his blood.
I would expect someone like this to replace Bruce.
However Bruce clearly doesnt want to retire, and how many performers have passed away very soon after giving up work.?

A light entertainment show like strictly just needs a competent presenter.....

There is absolutely NO need for that presenter to be an old school song and dance man, as is clearly evidenced by the very competent and entertaining people who present live shows on TV all round the world. Bruce is NOT a ballroom dancing expert, he did tap and the soft shoe shuffle... He knows as much about ballroom and Latin dancing as the average viewer does, which is not a lot!

In the 70s he flounced off to ITV leaving the BBC prime Saturday show, The Generation Game, without a presenter, and everyone said it would die without him. Guess what.....they drafted in Larry Grayson and Isla St Clair, and the two of them wiped the floor with dear Brucies Big Night on ITV, and took the show to its best viewing figures ever.

It goes to show that no-one, even the Ego that is Brucie, is irreplaceable. It will take a couple of shows for a new presenter to settle in, and then it will seem like they have always been there.

Strictly is an incredibly popular format in dozens of countries, and it will grace our screens for as long as it continues to pull in the viewers. If anything, a change of presenter will give the show a new lease of life, and may even attract folk who won't watch the show because of him!