Bruce Forsyth: How he got his big break in the Black Country
He was the face of Saturday night TV across the decades - but Sir Bruce Forsyth's career began right here in the Black Country as a teenager.
Bruce's first-ever public appearance was in Bilston in 1942, where at just 14 he sang, danced and played the accordion. And later he appeared at the landmark Dudley Hippodrome theatre.
He appeared under the stage name The Mighty Atom at the Bilston's Theatre Royal, with billboards splashed across Wolverhampton and Birmingham with 'Boy Brucie, The Mighty Atom.'
But the show wasn't the success that it was intended to be and ground to a halt after just one week.
Speaking in recent years, Bruce joked: "After one week the show folded because I was so terrible. All I got was 13 shillings and fourpence.’’
But little was it known that the star, who died aged 89 on Friday, would go on to become the king of British entertainment.
Sue Appleby recalled how her mother, who is now 102, was present at the Bilston show.
She said: "My mum was born in Bilston as Ivy Rollason. She has outlived all her siblings but I still have a few Rollason cousins and I think it may be quite a common Black Country name.
"She was there at the Bilston Theatre Royal in what was probably his first ever performance. Billed as Boy Bruce the Mighty Atom, he did a song and dance act and played the accordion.
"My mum, now aged 102, was born and brought up in Bilston and always told me how she saw him on stage there and what a wonderful night it was. She now lives in Essex."
In later years, Bruce graced the Black Country again, this time appearing at Dudley Hippodrome.
In 2015, when former box office assistant Amy Shepherd passed away, her son Paul shared some of her photographs and memorabilia from her time at the iconic theatre, including a picture of Bruce with Roy Castle, Ben Warris and Ken Dodd.
He went on to become one of TVs best-paid stars, famous for hosting game shows like The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and The Price is Right.
And in recent years, he reinvented himself as the host of Strictly Come Dancing.
In 2013 he performed at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and was an ambassador of the Caudwell Children, a Staffordshire-based charity which provides practical and emotional support to disabled children and their families.
