Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Forsyth was evacuated to Clacton-on-Sea. Shortly after he arrived, Forsyth's parents allowed him to return to London as a result of his feeling homesick. In 1943, Forsyth's older brother John, who served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, was killed during a training exercise at RAF Turnberry. Forsyth attended the Latymer School. After watching Fred Astaire in films at the age of eight, he trained in dance in Tottenham and then Brixton.