Nice to see you...showbiz stars turn out for TV tribute to legend Brucie
STARS from across the world of entertainment gathered last night to celebrate the life of Sir Bruce Forsyth.
Led by Dame Shirley Bassey and his widow Lady Wilnelia, showbiz royalty including David Walliams and Rob Brydon recorded a variety show in the late entertainer’s name.
Filmed at the London Palladium, the venue that propelled Sir Bruce to fame, the evening of song and dance featured tributes from some of his closest friends including Tess Daly and Vernon Kay.
Sir Bruce, who died in August last year with his family at his side, would have turned 90 today. The hour-long show, featuring some of his favourite routines and jokes, will be screened on BBC One at a later date.
Dame Shirley, 81, said: “Sir Bruce Forsyth was a born entertainer – a talented singer, dancer, actor – always putting a smile on people’s faces.”
Other stars at the gala evening were comedian Paul Merton, TV boss Sir Michael Grade, the BBC Concert Orchestra and Brucie’s Strictly “favourites” – professional dancers Giovanni Pernice, Kevin Clifton, Chloe Hewitt and Pasha Kovalev. Sir Bruce began his 75-year showbiz career at the age of 14. He launched an act called Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom and first appeared on Sunday Night At The London Palladium in 1958. Over the next six decades he became a fixture on TV, fronting Saturday night classic The Generation Game, which attracted 21 million viewers during its peak in the 1970s. He later found fame with a new generation as co-host of Strictly Come Dancing, from its launch in 2004 to his retirement a decade later. In 2015 he said: “How many people in showbusiness have had three of the top shows ever on TV? “If you have one in a lifetime you’re lucky but to have three... I’m so fortunate to have had this life.”