Sir Bruce Forsyth sadly passed away five years ago today after an iconic TV career spanning seven decades. The star of Strictly Come Dancing and Play Your Cards Right suffered from a number of health difficulties in his final years, suffering two life-threatening aneurysms a few months prior to his passing. He died of bronchial pneumonia at his Wentworth Estate home in Virginia Water, aged 89. Sir Bruce’s legacy lives on through his huge influence on television as well as his wife Wilnelia Merced and six children.
Express.co.uk takes a look back at some of his finest moments.
Saturday Night at the London Palladium was Sir Bruce’s first major TV success, wooing viewers back in 1961 when he danced with Norman Wisdom.
By the Seventies, Sir Bruce was already a household name. This allowed him to make an appearance at Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle in 1974.
Ever the performer, the TV legend dribbled the ball across the Wembley turf, even bagging himself a goal.
He then climbed onto the podium and shouted. “Anyone here from Newcastle?” [Cheers] “Anyone here from Liverpool?” [More cheers]. “Anyone here from Luton?” [Silence].”
His success on TV was only growing in the Seventies.
Sir Bruce hosted The Generation Game from 1971-1977, and he even took it to the top of the ratings.
The BBC game show saw four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes.
While the show was cancelled in the Eighties after Larry Grayson took over as host, Sir Bruce would get another shot at it between 1990-1995.
Having stolen the show at Wembley and the London Palladium during his career, Sir Bruce ticked off another event in 2003.
He performed at Glastonbury, singing ‘Singin in the rain’ and ‘Top Hat, White Tie and Tails’, also displaying his sense of humour in the process.
In 2014, he showed off his dance moves as he marked his final appearance on Strictly Come Dancing by dancing with a flash mob.
Following his emotional exit from the show, Sir Bruce told the Michael McIntyre Show that he left in order to prolong his life.
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Sir Bruce replied: “That’s lovely to hear.
“I’d rather do it this year than wait another year because you never know.
“I was getting the flu, I always got the flu in studios because they’re so full of germs.”
Sir Bruce is famous for the length of his TV career too, and he was even awarded a Guinness Book of Records title as a result, acknowledged for the longest ever TV career in 2012.
Reacting to this, Sir Bruce said at the time: “What a wonderful surprise, but what a shock – and it’s all true.”