The Sun newspaper has revealed today that Strictly Come Dancing host, Bruce Forsyth, has agreed to take a 25% cut in his pay for presenting this year’s show, which means in monetary terms that instead of last year’s pay of around £600,000, he’ll receive around £500,000.

The cut is in line with many cost cutting measures that have been introduced by BBC director-general Mark Thompson, who is cutting the salaries of some BBC stars by as much as 40%.

A representative of Forsyth’s told the paper, “Bruce loves Strictly. We haven’t signed a contract yet, but we hope to have things sorted within the next two weeks.

“In times like these people are taking cuts. Gone are the days when you’d get a Brucie bonus for being loyal…

“But can you imagine watching Strictly without Bruce? It would be almost unthinkable.”

However, speculation is rife that this year could be the last time Bruce will present Strictly given that he’s now 81 years old. But the man himself said, “People have been asking me if I’m going to retire for ten or 15 years.

“It’s getting to be an old question. I’m nearly as old as the question!

“I’ll know when I’ve had enough. But for now I still love showbusiness.”