Sir Bruce Forsyth has made “no formal or informal decision about retiring from show business”, his manager has said
Newspaper reports today have claimed that Sir Bruce Forsyth, 88, would be announcing his retirement from the entertainment industry after 77 years.
But a statement from his manager, Ian Wilson, said: “As is widely known, Sir Bruce is recuperating from various health issues. His sole focus at the moment is to continue getting better and he has made no formal or informal decision about retiring from show business.”
Last year he suffered a serious fall at his home in Surrey and had surgery the following month.
He has since been recovering from the surgery, which also left him too frail to attend the funeral of close friend Ronnie Corbett on April 18.
His wife of 33 years, Lady Wilnelia Forsyth-Johnson, spoke about his health in June this year.
She said: “He’s doing much better. But he’s still convalescing. It was a big, big operation.
“It’s taking much longer than we expected, but we’re positive that he can recuperate 100 per cent.”
Sir Bruce announced he was leaving Strictly Come Dancing in April 2014, after nearly 10 years as the presenter of the show.
Over the years he has showed no signs of slowing down and in 2013 at the age of 85, he stepped out on to the stage at Glastonbury to a standing ovation, where he performed a host of classic songs and teased the Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger.
He returned to the stage for the first time in nearly two decades with his live one-man show at the London Palladium in March 2015, where he was hailed as “a legend”.
Sir Bruce cemented his place in the hearts of the nation following his stint as the host of ITV’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium in 1958.
He also hosted the BBC flagship show "The Generation Game" from 1971 to 1977 and again at the beginning of the 1990s. At its peak, the show attracted more than 20 million viewers.
He started his career in showbiz at the age of 14 with a show called “Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom” and made his first television appearance as a child in 1939.
His former Strictly Come Dancing co-host Tess Daly, who is now fronting the BBC One show with Claudia Winkleman, shared a picture of herself and Sir Bruce on Instagram yesterday, with the caption: “Dancing with the legend that is Brucie at Strictly a few years back.”
