‘Strictly Come Dancing’ hosts Tess Daly And Claudia Winkleman have shared tributes for Sir Bruce Forsyth, following the sad news of his death at the age of 89.
The veteran entertainer died after a long period of ill-health and the presenters both posted messages on social media within hours of Bruce’s death being confirmed by his family.
Tess - who worked on 11 series of ‘Strictly’ with Bruce - shared a lengthy statement on Twitter.
She said: “There are no words to describe how heartbroken I am to be told the saddest news that my dear friend Sir Bruce Forsyth has passed away.
“From the moment we met, Bruce and I did nothing but laugh our way through a decade of working together on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and I will never forget his generosity, his brilliant sense of humour and his drive to entertain the audiences he so loved.
“He has been there for me as a co-host, a mentor but most importantly as a friend and I’m extremely fortunate to have worked alongside the man who defined Saturday Night Entertainment for so many decades.
“He was a gentleman and a true legend. I will miss him deeply. My heart goes out to Winnie his wife and his beautiful family at this sad time.”
Claudia took over when Bruce stood down from the show just before the 2014 series. Writing on Twitter, she posted:
Claudia said: “He was the King of TV, the Prince of performers and the most generous of people... all toe-tapping twinkle, all kindness, all love...
“The Bruce you saw really was the man he was. We’ll miss him so much.”
Tess and Claudia’s tributes were two of many, as the entertainment world rushed to say goodbye to one of its most well-known faces.
Sue Perkins, Miranda Hart and Pointless’s Richard Osman all shared messages, while BBC Director-General Tony Hall hailed Bruce as “one of the greatest entertainers our country has known”.