Warwick Davis has praised the late Bob Monkhouse for being a "genius".
The 44-year-old star – who is to follow in Bob’s footsteps by taking over as host of game show ‘Celebrity Squares’ when it re-launches on ITV – has confessed he knows he has big shoes to fill.
Speaking about how he’s been watching old episodes of the show – which Bob presented from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1993 to 1997 – he told The Sun newspaper: "He was a genius in his quips and one-liners.
"He had a brilliant mind for retaining jokes which I don’t have but I just tend to come up with stuff of the fly.
"Bob had a very laid-back presenting style whereas my style is a bit more in-your-face. I am a bit more cheeky than he might have been."
The ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ actor – who was born with a rare form of dwarfism known as SED – is also happy to be diversifying TV by becoming the first person of restricted growth to front a prime-time show.
He said: "I am in a really privileged position. It is a bold step for ITV and I really admire them for that but at the same time it’s a great thing.
"People like myself who are short, we are no different to anyone else … The more people understand that, the better the world will be."
Warwick Davis: Bob Monkhouse was a genius
