In Pictures: Sir Bruce Forsyth
- Published
Sir Bruce Forsyth, who has announced he is stepping down as the regular weekly host of Strictly Come Dancing, has presented the show since it started in 2004. The 86-year-old entertainer said it was the "right time to step down from the rigours" of hosting the live shows, but he will continue to present one-off specials of the show.
Sir Bruce began his career as a variety act called The Mighty Atom, in which he danced, sang and played the ukulele.
Seen here on stage with The Beatles at the London Palladium in 1963, Sir Bruce became a household name with his first major TV show, variety programme Sunday Night at the London Palladium, which he compered in the early 1960s.
Sir Bruce is well known to have long enjoyed playing golf as a hobby, seen here at Wentworth Golf Club, Surrey.
He built his career through his role of jovial gameshow host on shows including Play Your Cards Right and The Generation Game.
In the past, Sir Bruce has said he regretted some of his game shows and admitted he would have liked to produce more programmes in the vein of his special with Sammy Davis Jr in 1980.
Sir Bruce and his third wife Wilnelia, a former Miss World who is 30 years his junior, have been married for more than 20 years.
In 2011 he was knighted, which came after he was made an OBE in 1998, and a CBE in 2005.
In 2008, Sir Bruce was awarded the Academy Fellowship, Bafta's highest accolade, at its TV awards ceremony in recognition of the veteran presenter's "outstanding body of work".
Sir Bruce's career has spanned almost 70 years and he has become known to a new generation of television viewers as a result of hosting Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One. Mark Linsey, the BBC's controller of entertainment commissioning, called him "the all-time master and commander when it comes to Great British entertainers".