Len Goodman's Strictly Come Dancing years in memorable quotes and pictures

Len Goodman, the former head judge of Strictly Come Dancing, has died at the age of 78 from bone cancer.

He was on the BBC One Saturday night show from its inception in 2004, and made his final appearance on the 2016 Christmas Day special.

Len was well known for his unique way of announcing the score "seven!" and his many other memorable quips.

"Pickle my walnuts" was one of Goodman's best known catchphrases, and often drew a wry smile from fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood.

Goodman's famous Strictly nuggets included "It was like a cowpat on Countryfile - hot and steamy" and "You flew across the floor like a rampant crab" to presenter Anita Rani and her pro partner Gleb Savchenko in 2015.

The star was always game for a laugh. Some of his funniest quotes rhymed, including "Winner, winner, chicken dinner!"

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In fact, "bum" was a recurring theme for the head judge - other memorable phrases include "There you were, like two sizzling sausages on a barbecue - your bum was bionic", to Kellie Bright and Kevin Clifton on their salsa in 2015. And he once described Susanna Reid's samba as being "all bounce, bums and bongos".

Goodman loved to clown around for the cameras but didn't pull any punches if the Strictly celebrities weren't up to scratch. He once told Jeremy Vine one of his performances "was like watching a stork who'd been struck by lightning".

Celebrity contestants knew they had hit the jackpot if they got a rare "10 from Len" for their performance.

Goodman took the future Queen Camilla for a twirl at an event in 2019. He said: "What an honour. Over the years I've danced with hundreds of girls and that is the most memorable one. She's so nice and was charming and lovely."

Goodman was also a fixture on the US version of Strictly, Dancing with the Stars. When he left last year, host Tyra Banks described him as a "living legend".