Forsyth's old-fashioned appeal

Bruce Forsyth turned 80 with Miss Puerto Rico and Miss England

Bruce Forsyth, who has just turned 80, has been a fixture of British television for the last 50 years.

Younger viewers will recognise him as the spritely host of Saturday night ratings blockbuster Strictly Come Dancing.

Forsyth was the UK's highest-paid entertainer in the early 1960s

But it is game shows like The Generation Game and Play Your Cards Right for which the TV presenter remains best known.

The son of a garage owner, Forsyth grew up in Edmonton, north London, and left school at the age of 14.

He launched himself on the music hall circuit as Boy Bruce the Mighty Atom, with an act which included dancing, singing and playing the ukulele.

He spent 20 years travelling the country, working seven days a week, performing in church halls, sleeping in luggage racks and waiting for his big break.

Playful patter

Forsyth became a household name on the Generation Game

On a BBC chat show, the young Forsyth explained: "I want to be famous and buy my mum a fur coat."

But, by the time he was asked to host TV series Sunday Night at the London Palladium in 1958, he was on the verge of leaving showbusiness.

Forsyth was booked for two weeks, and ended up staying five years, by which time he was Britain's highest paid entertainer, earning £1,000 a week.

His energy and enthusiasm saw Forsyth flourish in the 1970s as host of a succession of popular game shows, including primetime hit The Generation Game.

Also known as Bruce Forsyth's Generation Game, the show saw Forsyth coin the expression "nice to see you, to see you, nice" and marry TV hostess Anthea Redfern of "give us a twirl" fame.

Game show regrets

Forsyth made a TV special with Sammy Davis Jr in 1980

In a recent interview, the star said he regretted many of his game shows - audiences tend to forget the likes of Hot Streak, You Bet! and Big Night - and admitted he would have liked to produce more programmes in the vein of his special with Sammy Davis Jr in 1980.

But, for fans, it is The Generation Game to which Forsyth's career remains uniquely linked.

His playful patter with the frequently-befuddled contestants was delivered with knowing winks to the audience, who grew to love the patented formula of cheesy jokes, slapstick comedy and terrible prizes.

Forsyth married Generation Game co-host Anthea Redfern in 1973

He left the show after six years in 1977, handing over to Larry Grayson, but returned in 1990 for another four-year stint.

The entertainer went on to repeat his TV success on long-running ITV quiz show Play Your Cards Right, which gave birth to the "higher, lower" catchphrase.

Thirteen years ago, in 1995, he received a lifetime achievement award for variety at the British Comedy Awards. He was made an OBE in 1998, and a CBE in 2005.

But, in between these honours, Forsyth all but vanished.

'Head-to-toe performer'

Bruce Forsyth starred on Have I Got News For You in 2003

Play Your Cards Right was dropped by ITV in 1999, and "Brucie" was barely seen on a British television set until he appeared as a guest presenter on satirical BBC quiz show Have I Got News For You? in 2003.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Forsyth says the appearance was his wife's idea. After calling show regular Paul Merton, he landed the gig and offered to be "a little bit deadpan".

"But the team said, `No, be Bruce Forsyth'," he says, "so we did it like that, and it was so successful.

"I'd never done a show where I'd sat down behind a desk. I always call myself a 'head-to-toe' performer, I move around. But it worked."

The acclaimed appearance led directly to him being offered the job on celebrity dance show Strictly Come Dancing.

Tap dancer

Forsyth has been married to Wilnelia for more than 20 years

Forsyth, an accomplished tap dancer himself, completed work on the fifth series last year, and the show's success has seen the his fortunes revived.

He earned his first National TV Awards nomination in 2004 and was the subject of a Bafta TV tribute.

And it is not just audiences who love the all-round entertainer.

"He is one of the great performers," former BBC director general Greg Dyke told the Guardian in 2006.

"He's got the look, he's got the style, he can do it all.

"He just is a star. You might ask how - or even why - but when you see it you cannot deny it."

Now a great-grandfather, Forsyth has six children and lives in Surrey with his third wife Wilnelia, a former Miss World who is 30 years his junior.