Sir Bruce Forsyth has paid tribute to friend and fellow veteran entertainer Ronnie Corbett in a touching interview.

Corbett, who is best known for The Two Ronnies sketch show, died aged 85 today surrounded by his family.

Sir Bruce said it was “one of the saddest days of my life”.

“Ronnie was a friend, someone I admired so much. It’s a very, very sad day. I’m going to miss him like crazy,” the 88-year-old former game show host told BBC News.

Sir Bruce also recounted the day he and Corbett first met at a Danny La Rue show in the West End.

“Well the first time I saw him was when he was working as one of the cast of the Danny La Rue show in the West End, the cabaret venue that he played a lot with Danny, and Danny and him were great together”.

“That was one of the wonderful things about Ronnie, he was very adaptable, he could work with anybody. Even me,” the former Strictly Come Dancing host said, laughing.

One of Britain’s most-loved entertainers, Corbett and Ronnie Barker's double act was one of the most popular sketches of the 1970s and 80s. Corbett appeared alongside Barker for 16 years, with Barker passing away in 2005.

Sir Bruce also went on to say that rehearsing with him was always fun. “We always say a ‘one off’ but he certainly was a ‘one off and a half’”