Loose Women viewers in tears as Sir Bruce Forsyth's widow shares moving tribute

28 February 2024 , 23:26

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Loose Women viewers in tears as Sir Bruce Forsyth's widow shares moving tribute

Loose Women fans were in tears as Lady Wilnelia Forsyth-Johnson appeared on the show to reflect on her marriage and life with the late entertainment legend.

Sir Bruce passed away in August 2017 at the age of 89 after falling ill with a strain of pneumonia. The Strictly Come Dancing host had married former Miss World winner Lady Wilnelia, 66, in 1983 and they welcomed a son named Jonathan Joseph in 1986. This month, Sir Bruce would have turned 97 years old and Lady Wilnelia explained how much she still thinks about him while appearing on the ITV daytime talk show.

She joined the show which was helmed on Wednesday by Christine Lampard, 45, and with a panel consisting of Coleen Nolan, 58, Dame Kelly Holmes, 53, and Katie Piper, 40. As they prepared to introduce Lady Wilnelia to the show, the ladies discussed the entertainment legend and played clips from his life.

As Lady Wilnelia joined the table, Christine began: “So lovely to have you here. We’re all smiling and we’re all full of our memories. I can only imagine what it must be like for you to watch those moments.” She continued: “It’s remarkable the impact he did have for so, so many years in the ‘Biz’ that he called show. He loved it so much. It was his life. It became all of your lives. It was our Saturday night!”

Sir Bruce Forsyth and wife Lady Wilnelia were married from 1983 until his death in 2017 (Getty Images)

Lady Wilnelia reflected on her life with Sir Bruce on Wednesday's episode of Loose Women (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

During her time on the show, Lady Wilnelia explained how she met Bruce when she was on Miss World in 1975. She recalled: “When I first met Bruce we didn’t have the internet or anything like that… I remember going out with him and the next day and a lot of people outside were saying ‘Nice to see you, to see you, nice!’ And I thought ‘My god he has all these friends!’ I had no idea that was one of his catchphrases and how famous he was.

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“I was working in Paris after Miss World. Five years later, they asked me to judge, and Bruce was there too."

Sir Bruce was born on 22 February 1928 and Lady Wilnelia shared with the Loose Women panel that she and her family like to mark his birthday after his death. She said: "We try to get together on special occasions such as his birthday." She went on to explain that she struggled to watch videos of Sir Bruce, finding them “difficult” to watch as she misses him so much.

Her touching comments and anecdotes set Loose Women viewers off - with many taking to social media to say they had been reduced to tears by Lady Wilnelia’s stories. One fan wrote on X: "What a fantastic and emotional interview remembering Sir Bruce Forsyth. His wife is just adorable, kind, caring and loyal. Such a sweetheart! ! ! ! #LooseWomen." While another wrote: "Why am I crying? #loosewomen," and another commented: "I'm nearly in tears."

Mirror.co.uk