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.”

Justin Lee Collins has said that Bruce Forsyth is too old to be fronting Strictly Come Dancing and described him as ‘very rude.’

Justin presented the spinoff show ‘Strictly Come Dancing: On Three’ in 2004, and said Bruce did not act as he expected him to.

Collins told BBC: “I still think Bruce in his day was the best at what he did, but I think he should have given up three or four years ago.

“As legendary as he is – I grew up loving him, as did my parents, as did my grandparents – he wasn’t particularly nice to me on that show.”

He added: “I loved him and they do say never meet your idols because you’re always going to be disappointed and in the case of Bruce I was disappointed. He was very rude.

“But he does a very, very difficult show on TV, and I think particularly on that first series, he may have found it difficult.

“I still love to watch it, religiously. I never miss it, if I’m away it’s recorded. It doesn’t get much bigger or better than Strictly.”

Strictly Come Dancing presenter Bruce Forsyth has admitted that he took a pay cut for this years series and revealed that he backs a general cap on talent’s salaries.

In an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight, the star said: “It’s a good thing to cap the salaries and I think it should have probably been done a long time ago.”

The 81-year-old told the programme that he had accepted his new salary with “goodwill because these are very, very hard times”.

TV veteran Terry Wogan has admitted that he is compelled to watch Strictly Come Dancing but only to make sure Bruce Forsyth is still alive.

The former Eurovision presenter calls the BBC reality TV show “must-see” telly – but for the wrong reason.

Wogan told Radio Times: “I have to watch Strictly Come Dancing, of course, because one does worry so for Bruce.”

I Heart (love) Eurovision by eurovision
Make Custom Tshirts at www.zazzle.co.uk

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.”

Poor old Brucie! Grandad Forsyth has revealed that he was very hurt by all the criticism of his performance on this years Strictly Come Dancing series, and its almost like hearing someone giving your favourite grandpa a hard time.

“When you’re 80 you don’t have many plans for the future. So we’ll have to see what happens,” he told the Daily Star Sunday.

“This series has been particularly hard, especially with all the criticism I’ve had to face. If I make a mistake I’m labelled as being doddery and not up to it.

“I had to pace myself. I had to rest a lot and made sure I lay in bed a long time. It was the only way I got through it. I spoke to my doctor as I got quite ill towards the end and he reckoned the reason I was still able to carry on was all to do with my adrenalin.”

Personally I think the BBC should leave Bruce where he is and get rid of the hugely annoying and strange eyed Tess Daly. That one really has a face for radio!

Bruce Forsyth has revealed that he has no intention of leaving Strictly Come Dancing, and says that he has ways and means of dealing with the tough filming schedule.

“On a Saturday I’m in the studio for 12 hours. From a TV point of view, that’s a week’s work in one day. So I pace myself the rest of the week,” he told The Mirror.

“I spend all day Sunday in bed. I have a long lie-in, get up for lunch, go back to bed and watch a bit of football, then I get up for a bit of supper. It’s all I can do. I rest a lot, I stay in bed a long time because if I do that I know I can get through it.”

Bruce did admit that there will likely come a day when it all does get too much, he said: “One day I think I am going to wake up, hopefully, and say to myself: ‘Do I really want to do this anymore?’ I think that’s how it will hit me.

“I know in my heart that I’m working pretty well at the moment, but I wouldn’t want to die on stage like Tommy Cooper.

“If I’d like to die anywhere it would be on a golf course like Bing Crosby.”

Strictly Come Dancing presenter, Bruce Forsyth has revealed that he is shocked by John Sergeant’s decision to quit the show.

Forsyth told the BBC: “I feel sorry for John because he was put in the most awkward position. He looked at all the other dancers and knew they were better than him. Over the last few weeks he must have felt guilty in a way.”

Forsyth also has sympathy for the other dancers and judges who were put in a slightly awkward postition.

“It’s all ended up a bit sad in a way. John is such a lovely guy and the whole team adore him. But then I felt sorry for poor Cherie [Lunghi] who worked so hard,” he said.

“[Viewers] don’t realise how hard the contestants work learning the dances for up to seven hours a day.”

Strictly Come Dancing host, Tess Daly, has defended her co-presenter Bruce Forsyth against people who have been calling him doddery and trying to get him off the show.

“I actually think it’s very disrespectful to talk a man out of a job that he is good at, that he loves,” Daly told the Daily Mail. “Let’s not forget that Bruce has been in the entertainment business for more than six decades. He is a legend in his own right, and there should be respect for that.

“These people who say otherwise, well, let’s look at their CVs compared to his and see who comes out on top.”

Daly also revealed that she is the most controlling out of the pair because Bruce refuses to wear an earpiece when presenting.

“You have to stick to your schedule, come hell or high water, and that sort of direction comes from the gallery,” she explained. “I’m the one who wears the earpiece – so they all yell at me, then I have to chivvy Bruce along.”

Strictly Come Dancing host, Bruce Forsyth is considering taking legal action against newspapers that reported he was leaving the show due to his advanced age.

Forsyth’s manager, Ian Wilson, insisted: “This story is not true and the matter is being put in the hands of our solicitors.”

Do you think Bruce is too old and doddery to present this primetime Saturday night show? Leave your comments below.