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Goodman was a successful professional ballroom
dancer, winning the British championships in his late twenties
before retiring from the sport and opening a dance school.
Much later in life, he chaired the judging panel on "Strictly"
from its launch in 2004 until 2016, and on its U.S. counterpart
for most of the period from 2005 until 2022.
He took a warm, supportive but critical approach as he watched
celebrities taking on tangos and waltzes, adding a down-to-earth
touch to the otherwise frequently flamboyant panel of judges.
"Len ... appealed to all ages and felt like a member of
everyone's family. Len was at the very heart of Strictly's
success. He will be hugely missed by the public and his many
friends and family," BBC Director-General Tim Davie said.
Goodman was born and grew up in London, and said he only took up
dancing reluctantly at the age of 19 after a doctor said it
would help him recover from a foot injury.
As a teacher, he said his priority was to make ballroom dancing
"enjoyable and sociable".
Speaking in 2012, following treatment for prostate cancer, he
said he most hoped to be remembered for being "genuinely nice".
"I would like there to be people who can honestly say: 'Len! Oh
yeah, there was more good than bad in him.'," he said.
"Strictly" was one of the BBC's most popular entertainment
shows, attracting an average of more than 11 million viewers at
its peak in 2010. As many as 27 million viewers watched some
episodes of "Dancing with the Stars" in its early seasons.
(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
(Photo: Len Goodman, ballroom dancing expert and one of the
judges on the television series "Dancing with the Stars", poses
at the premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End" at
Disneyland in Anaheim, California, May 19, 2007. REUTERS/Fred
Prouser)
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