Strictly Come Dancing presenter Bruce Forsyth, has begged viewers to give new judge Alesha Dixon a chance on the show.

At a workshop for BBC staff this week Brucie pleaded:

“The show has been so hyped up this year and the criticism of Alesha has been unnecessarily harsh. She should be given a chance – the girl’s got guts.”

One worker told The Sun: “Brucie obviously feels very passionately about the Alesha situation as he was being quite feisty.

“He seemed genuinely annoyed by it all. Normally he reduces everyone to fits of giggles but this was an altogether more serious Bruce.”

The newspaper reports that BBC bosses are going to give Alesha the chance to sit in on rehearsals and practice her comments before the live show this week.

A source said: “Everyone is supporting Alesha and wants her to do well. She’s such a lovely person and she’s incredibly bright and bubbly.

“But it’s not easy being bubbly and funny when you’re under fire. So to stop her from feeling pressured into coming up with witty comments on the spot, Alesha will watch the dress rehearsals so she can practise what she’s going to say.

“The other judges can do the job in their sleep, but Alesha accepts she’s going to have to put the hours in.”