Collins: 'Forsyth was horrible to me'

Justin Lee Collins has said that Bruce Forsyth was "horrible" to work with on Strictly Come Dancing.

The comic and TV presenter, who hosted spinoff show Strictly Come Dancing On Three during the first series, said that Forsyth's "tone and demeanor" were not pleasant when he interviewed him.

The Friday Night Project star told Love It magazine: "He's horrible! I had to interview Bruce three times. He was not pleasant and I didn't like his tone or demeanour.

"I was terrified before our first live interview, then during it, he told me my questions were ridiculous. The awkwardness continued and I was thinking, 'Oh man, why are you being like this'. My mum used to tell me the more unpleasant a person is to you, the more you should kill them with kindness, so I kept being nicer and nicer to him.

"Even though he'd been horrible, at the end of the interview I said, 'Thank you Bruce so much, I've been looking forward to meeting you all day'. He stood up and his parting shot was, 'Well you've met me now', and walked off. I was shattered. And the following week he was just as bad."

Collins added: "I last saw him at an end of series dinner - the BBC recommissioned the show and everyone was coming back - except me. One of the producers said to me, 'I've been having a chat with Bruce and he told me, 'When Justin first started, I wasn't sure about him. But I saw how hard he worked, he did alright. Isn't that a nice thing to say, Justin?'.

"I actually wanted to tell him to f**k off, grab a doggie bag and go back home to Bristol."

Last month, Collins called for the veteran entertainer to retire from the BBC One dancing show, arguing that he was "too old".