The show just seems so much smoother when he isn't presenting.

Ha ha. True!!

Well, at least he has one good point in his favour.

Its ridiculous people are labeling him homophobic because of how he acted last night. Brucie has been the same for the last few years. They really are just letting their hate come up with all sorts of BS.

Yes, it is quite sad really.

Urgh, he made me feel really uncomfortable.


Act or real, he always has to put himself in the middle of everything. His ego is out of control.


BIB - and I disliked it then .

It's such a tired act. He spoils the show because he insists on being so prominent. He should be the oil that keeps things moving, but he has to make it about himself

The 'Sunday' show reminds me of the feeling I used to get as a schoolkid when the regular crotchety mean old teacher was unexpectedly absent and was temporarily replaced by a fun cool and friendly one.

I have no idea if he is homophobic or not, but I do know that he detracts from the show and make it less enjoyable than it would be without him.

And I'm far far from being the only person who thinks this.

As last weeks show proved, the show is better and tighter without him trying to get all the attention onto himself. He is not funny, he is not good at his job and, despite what he thinks, the show would improve with a better presenter.

Holly I completely agree. Just really annoyed at people on this forum think calling Brucie Homophobic is acceptable. Its very serious to give people such labels. Anyway, he was cringy last night. Singing Happy birthday to Fiona was just

I don't know whether he was trying to be funny or not but I thought the remark about 'don't go doing that when you've got all those women on your side' or words to that effect, was unscripted and unfortunate to say the very least. You could see the judges tense and Ben, sensibly, backed off. Unfortunately, Bruce is more disinhibited as the years pass and I thought he was showing his real views. If he wasn't, it was a bad slip.

Thanks, I was beginning to think it was just me.

I didn't catch what Bruce said to Ben, but I knew he made everyone round the judges' desk uncomfortable.

Brucie does that every week.

I noticed on one performance Len snapped at him when Brucie kept interrupting. Cannot remember which celeb it was though.

Really is time for Brucie to go now, its getting worse and worse. Like he is deteriorating.

I sort of see what people are saying though about this comment to Ben. I have no idea whether Bruce is homophobic or not, but I wouldn't want to accuse him of it, based on one off the cuff comment. He might be homophobic, he might not. Who knows?

I feel last week that he doesn't like Julien, but I think that's more because Julien was being flamboyant and taking attention away from him

Oh for goodness sake! Of course he was trying to be funny.

It was a joke about how Ben is clearly adored by the female audience members and viewers, so they'd be disappointed if he dashed their hopes.

It might not have been perfectly expressed, but the intent behind it certainly wasn't homophobic.

It's a shame that people are so intent on seeing homophobia where it doesn't exist that they distort reality in such a way.

And I didn't see the Judges tense (they were off-screen at the time, so you certainly made that up), nor did I see Ben back off. He was playing his part. He instigated the whole joke, by putting his arm round Brucie after Brucie had remarked on his sexual moves on the dance floor, and when Brucie playfully shrugged him off he went back to standing all coy as if nothing had happened. It was all a bit of fun.

And once Ben had finished kissing Craig, Brucie continued saying how "marvelous" he thought Ben was.

I can't believe some of these comments and the nonsense suggestions of homophobia, frankly!

Right, I've just seen this and I thought homophobic tendencies had nothing to do with it. I did think that Bruce wanted the attention back on himself. A nasty quality though.

Totally agree.

For goodness sake he works with Craig and Bruno every single bliddy week. Surely after 10 years if he was "homophobic" we would have picked up on it by now.

As per usual I'm out of step with the majority of the forum because I don't mind Brucie. Yes there are some weeks when he gets on my wick but, on the whole I still think he does a good job and I for one will be very sad when he finally calls it a day. Lord help us if (as was called for in the live thread) they replace him with Alan Carr. :yawn:

I am quite sure Bruce was trying to be funny and make a joke. Since a joke can still be homophobic (or sexist or racist for that matter - or just plain unfunny) his intent is nothing to the point. For example, many people find Frank Carson, Jim Davidson etc to be highly offensive comedians who the BBC could no longer dream of putting on a family show and the fact that they think they are trying to be funny doesn't make their comments any less sexist or racist.
I think my point is that for a six figure salary I expect an entertainer who isn't bumbling his way through poorly expressed jokes which are frequently tedious and unfunny, with increasingly bad timing and an inability to read the room. The issue of this one exchange is a drop in the ocean of the awkward and amateurish moments we are treated to on a weekly basis.
And the camera pans to the judges as he makes the final remark - Darcy's rictus grimace and Bruno's expression I certainly read as tension - I may be mistaken in my interpretation of their facial expressions but you are certainly mistaken in suggesting that they are not seen on camera during the incident.

I do think it's all part of an act. But I also think it's about as funny as cancer. He's no longer endearing, if he ever was (he certainly never was in my household). He fluffs his lines, he butts in with 'advice' which is almost always inaccurate, he consistently brings the flow of the show to a dead standstill, and every time he grabs Tess's leg at the top of the show I have to fight my gag reflex because you just know he's squeezing as hard as he can.

He should go. But he won't. Because everyone in TV hierarchy is under the mistaken impression that he's beloved by the nation.

Every year I've been a defender of Brucie, I do think that this year enough is enough. If anything, it's unfair to see a legend such as Sir Bruce Forsythe stumble his way through the show like this. My enjoyment of the show from last week to this week was surprisingly extreme and as a rule, I like to feel like I am watching a show in capable hands. This is no longer the case and the longer he keeps going, the more he is tarnishing his career.

People on here are taking the presenting of the show far too seriously!! It's about the dancing!!! Don't be so obsessed!! Bruce has being doing that annoyed/surprised act for years and years!!! Good grief!!!

Oh, you're quite sure now, are you? Because earlier you said you didn't know whether he was trying to be funny or not.

I can't believe I'm reading this. Intent and meaning are ENTIRELY relevant in determining whether a joke, a comment or even an insult is homophobic (racist, sexist, ageist, etc.).

The sort of old-school comedians you mention are leaps and bounds away from this harmless, off-the-cuff remark by Brucie, which was clearly aimed at the way Ben is lusted after by the female audience, not as any criticism or offense directed towards homosexuality.

You could only find homophobia in that remark if you are specifically looking for it. Which you sadly seem to be.

Regarding your second paragraph, I think we've got to the crux of the matter. Your view of that particular exchange is clearly warped by your dislike of Brucie's general presence and delivery on the show. It's a shame that you've allowed that to manifest itself in baseless and reactionary accusations of homophobia.

And finally, I've watched the incident back a few times now and Darcy and Len were clearly smiling, not forced as you suggest, when Brucie returned to them. Craig was stone-faced, as usual. And Bruno was clearly contemplating his upcoming comments/scores. Nothing about their behaviour suggests that any of them were obviously offended.

This is all simply a nonsense. There's no controversy here, no matter how hard people try to turn it into one.

I'd be surpised if he even knew who Ben was before the show. He seems to not know quite a few people before the show, and maybe learns abit from his little segements that he has to remember and read out. Not many of my friends thata love footie but hate rugby even know who Ben is, let alone know he is a firm supporter of gay rights.

I would doubt it. I certainly didn't and I doubt large numbers of the viewing audience would either.

Loathsome is incredibly strong you know. People no doubt have described Hitler in that way and I wouldn't necessarily be equating the two.

As for Ben, well it was a completely light hearted situation and if there was anything in the tiny incident it was that perhaps Bruce in the instant misread the situation. If there was any confusion about intention most men would have probably shied away.

To be fair, Bruce's job is to keep the show flowing (and he's probably being fed instructions from the gallery). The main show is live, and it's up to him to make sure it doesn't overrun. That means stepping in when unscheduled and unscripted things happen. Bruce doesn't always handle these things in the best way, but I think it's a bit harsh to put all the blame on him for stepping in.

As for homophobia - I don't get why people are claiming that Bruce's behavior was homophobic. I just thought he was annoyed with the unscheduled 'judges' table invasion' by Ben.