Bruce Forsyth Quotes

People think I am the crazy person on stage, but I know how to relax.

They do say, the smaller the feet, the better the dancer.

I read a lot when I'm away. I love courtroom dramas and I'm always looking for new authors.

Lots of people come up to me and call me Sir Bruce now. Interviewers call me Sir with every question, but I never make a point of making people call me Sir. It doesn't matter to me, though; it was a great honour to be knighted. I'm very proud of it.

Not working is bad for you. It is my drug, it gives me a high; most performers will tell you that. And there is nothing like the high that an audience gives you.

Some people hate the sight of me as soon as they see me on television. They loathe the look of me, and I accept that from the days of variety. I would walk on and some people would open a newspaper and think, 'He's first on, so he can't be any good.' I accept that.

No one - apart from my agent, perhaps - should leave one of my shows in tears.

In my mind, everything is too sanitised on television - what is wrong with things going wrong?

Although I'm predominantly known for game-shows, I do prefer to be known as a performer.

My father earned every penny he had, and I would have loved to have bought him a Rolls-Royce because his whole life was cars. Sadly, he didn't live to see the day when I could have done that for him, which still hurts.

Puerto Rico is one of those places you can be as quiet or as crazy as you want, because there's so much nightlife. I have to take the craziness carefully.

When you've been brought up in variety, I think timing is always important in your life. If I'm ever late for anything, whether it's personal or business, I always apologise. 'I'm sorry I'm late,' and all that. And if somebody is late meeting me, I expect them to say 'I'm sorry I'm late.' It's just, shall we say, showbiz etiquette of my day.

When a performer doesn't get nervous, that is when you have to give up.

Just doing any kind of work - even an interview for breakfast television - makes me feel happy.

When I married Wilnelia, one of the first things I wanted to know about Puerto Rico was the quality of the golf courses.

I don't do close-ups any more. I am better looking from the waist downwards.

I hate the term 'arm candy.' But, look, a woman's figure is a beautiful thing, and if she has shapely legs, then she should show them off, because men love to see that. Not just heterosexual men - gay men like to see a woman in her beauty and the shape of her.

I hate Mondays - I hate that feeling you've got to get yourself up.

Did you write the words, or the lyrics?

It's sad when you see most of your friends in the business gone, like Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howard, Eric Morecambe, Roy Castle, Les Dawson. They were very dear to me. You no longer have the chance to bump into them at a celebrity do.

My biggest regret is that my mother didn't see me walk on to that London Palladium stage, being the star she always wanted me to be. But I always say that when she reached Heaven, she had a word with a few agents.

That Mick Jagger, I feel sorry for him. After all these years he still can't get no satisfaction.

Nice to see you, to see you nice

A round of golf is the ideal antidote to stress.

It's important for a dancer to wear very tight underpants. I used to feel a bit exposed if I wasn't being held up in the right place.

I'm the leader of the pack, which makes me such a lucky Jack, for openers, here's a pair of cuties, here's my darling dealing beauties.

It may be an old cliche, but I think true love will last; it has no end. But finding the right person is a very difficult thing.

I met my darling wife Wilnelia in 1980 when we were on the judging panel for the Miss World contest at the Royal Albert Hall. With two ex-wives and five daughters, I thought I wouldn't be involved with anyone for a long time - if ever. Winnie was so gorgeous, my jaw dropped - and it's a big jaw to drop.

People think I rush around all day long like a raving lunatic. I'm much more relaxed than that.

If I go out one night, I must stay in the next. It's the same with my golf. If I play one day, I don't play the next. I try to pace myself.

I'm not even really a joke-teller. I can do ad-lib and banter, but I don't do jokes.

I have no plans to rock myself to sleep in my bath chair yet.

Ambition can take the place of everything - even sex.

I am not doddery... doddery I am not!

It could still be a good night if you play your cards right.

All kids love to get dirty, but if I wandered into the garage, my father would say: 'Son, you're not going to have filthy hands like mine. You're going into show business.'

You can shuffle my deck any day!

If I couldn't move, I don't know what I would do. That would be terrifying for me; I don't know how I'd cope with that.

I can tell by the way somebody walks if they can dance or not. Just by the rhythm.

It's frightening, the way life speeds up. When you're at school, time can't go fast enough.

I do lead a careful diet, I don't overeat, I have fruit and vegetables every day and I drink a lot of water. And my darling wife keeps me so young it is ridiculous. Being with her is an inspiration as well.

I don't want to grow old gracefully. I want to put up a bit of a fight.

Little did I know that there's nothing more competitive in the world than a professional ballroom dancer. They are as competitive as Olympic athletes.

On stage, I think I'm 35. Working takes over my whole body and I become a younger man - that's why I won't stop.

My holidays are very important. Mind you, I take a very long one every year.

It's the combination of marrying a beautiful woman three decades younger and my iPad that keeps me young.

When I was in the business as a young performer, it was a recognised fact that when you got to 60 you were out, because there'd be a new crop of comics coming up all the time, every 10 years or so.

Golf is hugely important, as it keeps me going.