TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

Bruce Forsyth had been the prefect host for Sunday Night At The London Palladium, he could sing, dance, be funny, play piano (very well), but most of all he could communicate with the audience, a talent that failed many others who gave it a go before and after him. His two stints as host came to an end 28th June 1964 as he left the show to appear in the West End production of Neil Simon's musical Little Me.

He returned to TV for a one-off for BBC2 on Christmas Eve 1965 with guest star Millicent Martin. The show was written by Sid Green and Dick Hills who also had the writing gig for Morecambe and Wise over at ATV. This show might have looked a little odd to the TV audience at the time as the following day his duties at ABC began with another, almost identical one-off show, also written by Green and Hills.

He was back at ABC, as were the script writers, in August 1966 for the first in a series broadcast on Sunday evenings. Starting each show a snatch of Just In Time, followed by one of his most famous catchphrases "Nice to see you, to see you nice", an extension of the way he spoke in conversation with his guests, and what guests. In addition to comedy, film and TV stars he played host to Tom Jones, Cilla Black, Dudley Moore, Engelbert Humperdinck, Kathy Kirby, Julie Rogers among others. Like the Morecambe and Wise show both Hills and Green ('Sid and Dick') wrote themselves into sketches, accompanied by the likes of Ronnie Corbett, Arthur Mullard, and his dancing partners Aleta Morrison and Lionel Blair. Despite being the King of Sunday Night, ABC put the show on later than you would expect, usually starting 10.05 pm after a big movie.

The second series, beginning August 1967, saw a new set design, but pretty much the same routine as before and the same writers. There would be one further special for ABC, this time at Christmas 1967 with Frankie Howerd. After another break from TV he would be back, this time for ATV, before settling back to re-take the role of King, but this time on Saturday Nights as host of The Generation Game.

In 2020 Network released a three-disc DVD set of surviving shows.

THE BRUCE FORSYTH SHOW

ABC

25th December 1965, 14th August 1966 - 24th September 1967, 23rd December 1967