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| Brucie enjoys birthday in style | Brucie enjoys birthday in style |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Veteran entertainer Bruce Forsyth has said he has no plans to retire as he celebrates his 80th birthday. | Veteran entertainer Bruce Forsyth has said he has no plans to retire as he celebrates his 80th birthday. |
| "If I look as though I'm past it, I'll know it," he said at the London hotel where he will later host a star-studded dinner with 280 guests. | "If I look as though I'm past it, I'll know it," he said at the London hotel where he will later host a star-studded dinner with 280 guests. |
| Flanked by two beauty queens, he also hit back at claims he is "doddery" and too old to host Strictly Come Dancing. | Flanked by two beauty queens, he also hit back at claims he is "doddery" and too old to host Strictly Come Dancing. |
| "Senile, yes, but not doddery," joked the former Generation Game host, who has been a star for 50 years. | "Senile, yes, but not doddery," joked the former Generation Game host, who has been a star for 50 years. |
| "You try to do live TV for two hours on a Saturday night without mistakes," he added. | "You try to do live TV for two hours on a Saturday night without mistakes," he added. |
| I don't work any differently from when I worked in variety - I still do the same thing now Bruce Forsyth Brucie career highs He did concede, though, that he could not go on forever and that retirement "had to be around the corner". | I don't work any differently from when I worked in variety - I still do the same thing now Bruce Forsyth Brucie career highs He did concede, though, that he could not go on forever and that retirement "had to be around the corner". |
| "It could be next week, next month, next year - who knows?" he said. | "It could be next week, next month, next year - who knows?" he said. |
| With Miss England on one arm and Miss Puerto Rico on the other, Forsyth said the response to his 80th birthday had been "unreal". | With Miss England on one arm and Miss Puerto Rico on the other, Forsyth said the response to his 80th birthday had been "unreal". |
| "I didn't know people would make such a big thing of it," he said. "I don't feel any different." | "I didn't know people would make such a big thing of it," he said. "I don't feel any different." |
| Bruce Forsyth in pictures | Bruce Forsyth in pictures |
| Asked to explain his longevity, Forsyth said it was because "families and children have grown up with me". | Asked to explain his longevity, Forsyth said it was because "families and children have grown up with me". |
| "I don't work any differently from when I worked in variety. I still do the same thing now." | "I don't work any differently from when I worked in variety. I still do the same thing now." |
| Dame Shirley Bassey, Rolf Harris and Vernon Kay are among the celebrities expected at Forsyth's celebrations at the Dorchester Hotel in London. | |
| The octogenarian said it had been "horrendous" arranging the seating plan. "With so many friends you want everyone to have a good table," he added. | The octogenarian said it had been "horrendous" arranging the seating plan. "With so many friends you want everyone to have a good table," he added. |
| Birthday presents so far received include a This Is Your Life-style book from his wife - Puerto Rican-born Wilnelia, a former Miss World - and a week at the US Masters golf tournament in Augusta. | Birthday presents so far received include a This Is Your Life-style book from his wife - Puerto Rican-born Wilnelia, a former Miss World - and a week at the US Masters golf tournament in Augusta. |
| Dear Bruce, I shall be singing Happy Birthday all day - have a wonderful party Dame Judi Dench's note to Bruce Forsyth He also revealed he had received a bottle of champagne from Dame Judi Dench. "That meant an awful lot to me," he said as he read out the note it had come with. | Dear Bruce, I shall be singing Happy Birthday all day - have a wonderful party Dame Judi Dench's note to Bruce Forsyth He also revealed he had received a bottle of champagne from Dame Judi Dench. "That meant an awful lot to me," he said as he read out the note it had come with. |
| Forsyth appears on Jonathan Ross's BBC One chat show on Friday and has recorded a birthday special to be broadcast on Sunday. | Forsyth appears on Jonathan Ross's BBC One chat show on Friday and has recorded a birthday special to be broadcast on Sunday. |
| The show, entitled Happy Birthday Brucie, will feature excerpts from his decades in showbusiness, as well as a tap dance duet with one of the young stars of West End musical Billy Elliot. | The show, entitled Happy Birthday Brucie, will feature excerpts from his decades in showbusiness, as well as a tap dance duet with one of the young stars of West End musical Billy Elliot. |
| class="lp" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/default.stm">HAVE YOUR SAYThe man is just a legendJohnny Lyttle, Leeds, United Kingdom class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4342=1=20080222144210">Send us your comments"I want to see performers performing," he said when asked about his TV tastes. "For me there is too much reality television. | |
| "I think that the public are starting to think, 'Isn't there anything else?' We have a lot of professional young performers we don't see enough of." | "I think that the public are starting to think, 'Isn't there anything else?' We have a lot of professional young performers we don't see enough of." |
| Forsyth - who was awarded an OBE in 1998 and received a CBE in 2006 - brushed off suggestions it was high time he received a knighthood. | |
| "Anyone else can say that, but I couldn't possibly comment," he said. "I don't think ahead. If it happens, it happens." | "Anyone else can say that, but I couldn't possibly comment," he said. "I don't think ahead. If it happens, it happens." |
| He also revealed he had yet to draw his state pension. "They probably owe me a fortune!" he quipped. | He also revealed he had yet to draw his state pension. "They probably owe me a fortune!" he quipped. |