Tributes paid to Sir Bruce Forsyth

Summary

Sir Bruce Forsyth dies aged 89
Presented some of the BBC's biggest shows during 60-year career
BBC director general Tony Hall: "We’ll miss him dearly"
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman pay tribute

Live Reporting

Cherry Wilson and Emma Owen

'A tireless charity campaigner'published at 18:16 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Jeremy Corbyn has also taken to Twitter to pay tribute to Sir Bruce:
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'You'll be sadly missed'published at 18:11 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Strictly dancers and some former contestants have been taking to Twitter to pay tribute to Sir Bruce:
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'Sometimes we cry, but mostly we laugh'published at 18:05 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Image source, Reuters
Sir Bruce was married to his wife, former Miss World Wilnelia Merced, for more than 30 years.
Last year she told the Mail On Sunday's You magazine about her husband's health struggles and how difficult it was to think of a future without him.
"I don't think about it too much. I hope I'll be prepared somehow, but it doesn't feel real. He's the man I fell in love with because his brain is there.
"He has a bit of a problem moving, but we still laugh and talk. I pray, I believe. The main thing is that he's doing well. The pain is more emotional; sometimes we cry, but mostly we laugh."
'A national treasure'published at 18:02 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
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Strictly judge Bruno Tonioli has also paid tribute:
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'The star of Saturday night'published at 17:58 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
The official Strictly Twitter account has posted a moving tribute to Sir Bruce:
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'So loveable and funny'published at 17:56 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Shirley Ballas, who is joining the new series of Strictly as a judge, has tweeted a tribute to Sir Bruce.
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Sir Michael Parkinson pays tributepublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Veteran entertainer Sir Michael Parkinson has paid tribute to Sir Bruce on BBC Radio 4's PM programme:
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He loved being a star. He loved making people laugh. He loved entertaining people. All those clichés of that kind of era and that kind of life were true in his case. There wasn’t a phoney part of him. He was true and true vaudeville like a stick of rock.
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The training he went through – that’s all gone now. He’s the last remaining survivor of it all. There was no-one quite like him. Never was, never will be.
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What made him great was his impeccable workrate and his determination not to ease into anything, to approach every show as if it were his first. I remember watching him thinking, you crafty old sod, you make it look so easy. And yet of course he was working away to get it right. You can’t be as good as that and take it for granted. He took it seriously, and that’s why he lasted so long and became so good at it.
'Thanks for years of great entertainment'published at 17:53 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
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In pictures: Sir Bruce Forsythpublished at 17:46 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Sir Bruce Forsyth's career in showbusiness spanned 60 years.
Look back at his life, from early variety stardom and game shows to Strictly Come Dancing.
In Pictures: Sir Bruce Forsyth
In Pictures: Sir Bruce Forsyth
'Nobody did it better'published at 17:45 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
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Obituary: Sir Bruce Forsythpublished at 17:39 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Veteran entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth had a career spanning eight decades, in which he went from struggling variety performer to Saturday night TV stardom.
On the way, he became one of the most recognisable entertainers in the business, driven by what appeared to be inexhaustible energy.
He became synonymous with the plethora of game shows that seemed to dominate television light entertainment in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, although he often felt he had become typecast as the genial quizmaster.
Obituary: Sir Bruce Forsyth
'An absolute showbiz legend'published at 17:38 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
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Lord Grade pays tributepublished at 17:37 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
The former BBC chairman said...
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I've grown up with Bruce, he and I have been friends and we’ve worked together over the years. I spent a morning with him at his house two weeks ago. He had a wonderful twinkle in his eye and he was battling, battling.
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We've grown up together. My business partner years ago was the agent who discovered him and persuaded him to go on Sunday Night at the Palladium.
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He was a very smart picker of knowing what the right formats were for him. He was very canny - we only know about the shows he said yes to, what we don't know are the hundreds of ideas he said 'That's not for me.'
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He had the smart, that's the sign of a great star. Bruce was a master of that. Absolute master and a lovely man to boot. He was loyal he was a very special, special man.
'A gentleman and a true legend'published at 17:36 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly has paid tribute to Sir Bruce.
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There are no words to describe how heartbroken I am to be told the saddest news, that my dear friend Sir Bruce Forsyth has passed away. From the moment we met, Bruce and I did nothing but laugh our way through a decade of working together on Strictly Come Dancing and I will never forget his generosity, his brilliant sense of humour and his drive to entertain the audiences he so loved.
Image source, PA
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He has been there for me as a co-host, a mentor, but most importantly as a friend, and I'm extremely fortunate to have worked alongside the man who defined Saturday night entertainment for so many decades. He was a gentleman and a true legend and I will miss him deeply. My heart goes out to Winnie, his wife, and his beautiful family at this sad time.
'Thank you for the laughter'published at 17:30 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
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'The whole country will miss him'published at 17:22 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
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'Brilliant entertainer'published at 17:14 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
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'One of the greatest entertainers our country has ever known'published at 17:05 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
The BBC's director-general pays tribute
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Today we’ve lost one of the greatest entertainers our country has ever known. Bruce was a friend to many of our teams. He’s been part of our lives for years – and we’ll miss him dearly. He invented, and then re-invented, Saturday night entertainment across the decades with shows from The Generation Game to Strictly. And, of course, his catchphrases were part of the national conversation.
Image source, PA
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I saw him perform and marvelled at the chemistry between him and his audience right from the moment he took to the stage – and, by the way, that was always well before any cameras were rolling. Bruce was such a special part of the BBC. There’ll be time to celebrate his amazing contribution later, but for now I just wanted to mark his extraordinary life.
Tony Hall, Director-General, BBC
'We'll miss him so much'published at 17:05 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
Strictly host Claudia Winkleman has taken to Twitter to pay tribute to Sir Bruce:
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'I thought he would go on forever'published at 17:00 British Summer Time 18 August 2017
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