Bruce plays his cards right on satire show

Good game, good game...veteran presenter Bruce Forsyth rings the changes during his hilarious debut as guest host on satirical quiz Have I Got News for You.

The 75-year-old showbiz legend emerged through glittering gold curtains before introducing a series of specially adapted games including the Brucie Bonus of Play Your Iraqi Cards Right.

The man who brought the nation The Generation Game left the audience in stitches as he littered the show with his trademark catchphrases including, “Nice to see you, to see you nice”.

During his version of Play Your Cards Right he called upon the show’s audience to predict whether the next card would reveal an Iraqi minister “higher or lower” up the chain of command.

At one point team captain Paul Merton exclaimed: “I’ve been waiting 14 years for the show to be like this. I’m having the time of my life!.”

As the topic of conversation turned to the cloud hanging over the government’s failure to find weapons of mass destruction, Bruce asked: “Well it would be nice to see them, to see them...”

And the audience duly replied: “...nice”.

Bruce went on: “This is fun. I’m enjoying it very much. If I knew what I was doing I would be enjoying it even more.”

Before the show came to its conclusion both teams were then each asked to memorise the items on a specially-constructed conveyer belt before making the topical connection.

With Ian Hislop having won the game and the series, Hislop was asked if he was, in typical quiz show fashion, prepared to take the chance and gamble it all on one question.

Hislop, a staunch eurosceptic, took on the challenge and when he was asked who captained England during Wednesday evening’s win against Slovakia, he replied: “Michael Owen.”

His prize was, inevitably, a trip on an easyjet plane to Brussels to meet the members of the European Parliament – with 100 Euros to spend on his travels.

Joining Merton’s team was BBC news presenter Natasha Kaplinsky. On Hislop’s side was Marcus Brigstocke.