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LONDON (Reuters) – Len Goodman, the top decide on British tv dancing competitors “Strictly Come Dancing” and its U.S. model “Dancing with the Stars”, has died aged 78, the BBC mentioned on Monday.
Goodman was a profitable skilled ballroom dancer, successful the British championships in his late twenties earlier than retiring from the game and opening a dance college.
A lot later in life, he chaired the judging panel on “Strictly” from its launch in 2004 till 2016, and on its U.S. counterpart for a lot of the interval from 2005 till 2022.
He took a heat, supportive however important strategy as he watched celebrities taking over tangos and waltzes, including a down-to-earth contact to the in any other case often flamboyant panel of judges.
“Len … appealed to all ages and felt like a member of everybody’s household. Len was on the very coronary heart of Strictly’s success. He will probably be vastly missed by the general public and his many family and friends,” BBC Director-Common Tim Davie mentioned.
Goodman was born and grew up in London, and mentioned he solely took up dancing reluctantly on the age of 19 after a health care provider mentioned it will assist him recuperate from a foot harm.
As a instructor, he mentioned his precedence was to make ballroom dancing “gratifying and sociable”.
Talking in 2012, following therapy for prostate most cancers, he mentioned he most hoped to be remembered for being “genuinely good”.
“I would really like there to be individuals who can actually say: ‘Len! Oh yeah, there was extra good than dangerous in him.’,” he mentioned.
“Strictly” was one of many BBC’s hottest leisure exhibits, attracting a median of greater 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; Enhancing by Andrew Heavens)