Flashback

Celebrating beloved Brucie

FOR A 26-YEAR-OLD performer trying to make it in showbusiness, getting to work with Bruce Forsyth was what dreams were made of. Back then I was one of ‘the girls’ on The Bruce Forsyth Show on the BBC. By that time he was a huge star, having pulled in audiences of 20 million when Sunday Night at the London Palladium was at its peak. I was overjoyed to be on the show, and what a thrill it was.

I think we are embroiled in some sort of magic trick here, if memory serves me. Bruce’s face is an absolute picture. My abiding memory of working on that show is the great camaraderie that connected everyone who was part of it. That warmth and fun were paramount for Brucie, and it shone through to the audience. He wanted every individual who was part of The Bruce Forsyth Show to feel comfortable, to do the best possible performance, but most importantly to enjoy being in each other’s company. His catchphrase, ‘I’m in charge,’ was all part of the patter, but in reality he was just one of the girls. He had that innate understanding of the importance of collaboration when it comes to anything creative, and an ability to join in and have fun with whoever he was working with.

It’s why he always worked so brilliantly with many of the other top performers of that era. He was a star in his own right, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t collaborate. I particularly remember his friendship with Sammy Davis Jr, which always seemed so strong it was almost spiritual, really. Everything that Bruce wanted in a friendship, I think he found in Sammy. They just worked so well together.

His connection with the audience was just as important, and it was what made him so unique. He had a love for the person in the street: he could get into their hearts and souls and make them laugh. Whether he was on stage or in front of a camera, he had an ability to conduct energy and warmth and reflect it back on to the audience. You could see them relax and think, ‘We’re going to have some fun here.’

My own favourite memory of working with him on a routine is of a lovely, sophisticated dance we did in tribute to the musical comedy star Jack Buchanan, called I Guess I’ll Have To Change my Plan. It was a little softshoe, him in top hat and tails, me in the same but with black fishnet tights. Towards the end of the number, the camera came in closer – and when it pulled out Bruce was in black fishnets too. Silly, of course, but humour was rather more gentle back then.

He was a joy to work with and for, but he was also a consummate professional and an absolute perfectionist. Don’t forget he cut his teeth working five shows a day at the Windmill in Soho. If anyone knew how to execute a routine perfectly it was Brucie. But as I learnt over the years working with so many of these great performers, they all tend to be perfectionists, though not all of them could also be as warm as him. He came on to the British showbusiness scene at such a wonderful time for television; just the right moment for performers like Bruce and Morecambe and Wise, who had honed their acts touring around the country for years. Bruce was certainly one of those who grabbed that opportunity with both hands. That he went on to have such success so late in his career on Strictly was quite remarkable. Showbusiness is so different these days. Humour is more abrasive, and where we used to say, ‘Leave all your troubles at the stage door,’ what goes on backstage now has become as potent as what you see on stage. But Bruce found his place and he was loved once more by an entirely new generation. I watched it and thought, ‘Oh, well done, Brucie.’

— Interview by Eleanor Steafel

Anita Harris will be appearing in a new five-part series, Last Laugh in Vegas, on ITV, next year

His catchphrase was, ‘I’m in charge,’ but in reality he was just one of the girls

Anita Harris with the late Bruce Forsyth on the set of the television series The Bruce Forsyth Show