Jim Davidson doesn’t think Mel and Sue are "right" for the ‘Generation Game’.
The 64-year-old comedian – who presented the show from 1995 until 2002 – has slammed the former ‘Great British Bake Off’ hosts for their lack of "ad-lib" skills and is convinced they’ll struggle to fill the shoes of the late Sir Bruce Forsyth.
He told The Sun newspaper: "They’re not right, they won’t know how to ad-lib. They’re not there to teach them how to bake a f***ing cake.
"I don’t know these women, I’ve never heard of them but you need someone that’s going to be able to ad-lib and drive the show along.
"That’s why Bruce was so good. He drove it along his way. He was the energy. You can’t remember any of the people on it, all you remember is Bruce."
Jim’s kind words about Bruce come just months after he admitted that the legendary presenter "refused" to speak to him again after he took over as the host in 1995.
Jim was asked to fill in for the television veteran on the game show after he fell ill one time but, although it was only meant to be temporary, bosses of the series decided to offer him a full time job because they couldn’t "afford" Bruce’s fee when it came to re-commissioning another instalment.
Jim said: "One day there was a knock on the door and a man said, ‘Jim, we are recording The Generation Game tomorrow and Bruce has gone sick. Can you step in to do it?’
"I said I would give it a go. I was not particularly good, but it made Bruce get better really quickly. When negotiations came for Series 34 for Bruce they used me as a chess piece to say, ‘We can’t go to that [his fee], Bruce.
"We have this guy.’ I took over and I don’t think Bruce was very happy. He did not speak to me again for the rest of his life. He did not speak to me much anyway. I was always the upstart. So I did it and I loved it. It was fantastic."
The BBC announced plans to reboot the popular show in 2014 but it’s believed bosses have already cut the episodes from four to two because they’re unhappy with Mel and Sue’s efforts – even though the series hasn’t hit screens yet.
Jim Davidson slams Mel and Sue on Generation Game
