'A real gentleman' - Tributes for ex-Strictly head judge Goodman

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It was announced today that Len Goodman, 78, had died over the weekend at a hospice in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, surrounded by his family.

Tributes have since poured in from the likes of Strictly Come Dancing co-host Claudia Winkleman, who called Goodman "a class act", as well as former judges Dame Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli.

Fellow Strictly host Tess Daly said: “You were never a seven for me, Len. You were always a 10” - a reference to his famous “Seveeeeeen” catchprase on the dancing show.

Former contestants of the show, as well as Goodman's colleagues from the US version of the programme Dancing with the Stars, have also remembered one of the UK’s best known ballroom dancers.

Needless to say, we haven't been short of kind words to bring you from a range of people.

More Strictly contestants have been speaking warmly of their impressions of Goodman this afternoon.

Eastenders actor Jake Wood, who took part in Strictly in 2014, speaks vividly about meeting him backstage at Elstree Studios, with 15 minutes to go to the show.

Writing on Twitter, he describes being very nervous. But, he says, they connected over a joke and a smile.

Quote Message: Another national treasure gone. RIP mate. from Jake Wood Strictly competitor, 2014

Another national treasure gone. RIP mate.

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Comedian Julian Clary remembers Goodman’s kindness combined with honesty.

He writes on Twitter: “When I was in the final of Strictly, [Goodman] said: 'We've got two thoroughbreds and a Shetland pony.'"

Another Strictly competitor, Jeremy Vine, puts the show’s success down to Goodman, saying his journey from welder to dancer destroyed the idea that ballroom dancing was “only for toffs”.

And Robert Rinder, better known as TV's Judge Rinder, remembers Goodman as "a rare gentleman" who was "kind, charming, exacting, encouraging". Referring to his time as a contestant on Strictly, Rinder says of Goodman: "It’s a 10 from us all."

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Derek Hough, a former professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars, has joined others in paying tribute to Goodman - who was head judge on the US show until 2022.

Hough says his heart is broken by the death of "dear friend" and "mentor" Goodman.

Alongside a photo and video of the two posted on Twitter, Hough writes: "Still hard to fully process but filled with gratitude knowing I had the privilege of working beside this absolute legend."

"We will miss you dearly Len. We love you".

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Former Strictly professional dancer, Vincent Simone, says Len Goodman was "one of those people you wanted to spend all day with".

Speaking to Radio 5 Live, he says all the male professional dancers would "hang around" with Len to listen to his stories.

"He used to show us steps which all of us new professionals didn't know existed," he says.

Remembering how the pair's friendship lasted beyond Vincent's time on Strictly, he says Len would often go to see him performing on the West End.

"I always got a message after the show saying; 'It's a ten from Len'", he says.

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As well as being a Strictly judge, Goodman enjoyed a 40-year career in ballroom and was a competitive dancer.

Here are some of the competitions he won during that time:

• Kent Professional Championship 1969
• British Professional Rising Star Championships 1972
• Duel of the Giants at the Royal Albert Hall 1975

• Four-time winner of the British Exhibition Championships
• The World Exhibition Championships

“I was never a world-class dancer... I got as far as I did because I was blessed with having a great partner and was prepared to work harder than most,” Goodman admitted.

The Goodman Dance Academy highlights his outstanding influence in the field.

He was an examiner for the National Association of Teachers of Dance, a fellow of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, an adjudicator for the World Dance Council, British Dance Council, Ballroom Dancers’ Federation and a founding member of the International Dance Sport Judges and Trainers Association.

As the Academy points out, "what Len doesn’t know about dance isn’t worth knowing."

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One of Goodman's fellow judges on the US version of Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing with the Stars, has paid tribute to her colleague and "treasured friend".

Carrie Ann Inaba remembers him as many things: "A Dancer. A teacher. A refined gentleman. A wonderful storyteller. A special soul. A mentor. A family man."

Alongside some images and video of the pair, she writes in an Instagram post that today's news "shattered" her heart.

"You were one of a kind my dear friend. And I will cherish our memories and hold them close", she says, thanking Goodman for his "humour, wisdom, wit and truth".

Strictly host Claudia Winkleman has been sharing her memories of Goodman and remembers a star who didn't indulge in starry behaviour.

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Shirley Ballas - who stepped in as head judge when Goodman left - says she is "extremely sad" to hear he has died.

"My past teacher, a dance legend and a true gentlemen," she writes of Goodman on Twitter. "He was a shining star in the ballroom that everyone loved."

"My heart is full of memories with him," she adds, thanking Goodman for his "dedication to the art of ballroom dancing" and for "all your advice over the years".

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Goodman landed the job on Strictly Come Dancing after another well-known figure from the world of dance dropped out shortly before the first pilot.

Erin Boag - who had been signed up to be a professional dancer on the show - told BBC Radio 5 Live that the producers asked her if she could help with any recommendations.

"I already knew Len from the dance world anyway - he was a very well-respected man in our dance world," she told Naga Munchetty.

Quote Message: And he had just done the best speech at this wedding - it was so funny. And I said you have to get this man in. He's called Len Goodman, he is perfect, he's got so much character. He's professional and he looks good in a suit, he's well-respected.

And he had just done the best speech at this wedding - it was so funny. And I said you have to get this man in. He's called Len Goodman, he is perfect, he's got so much character. He's professional and he looks good in a suit, he's well-respected.

Quote Message: They said: 'We'll give him a call'. Well, the rest is history. They did. And I don't think anyone looked back. He was perfect for the job from day one. They gave him the job on the spot."

They said: 'We'll give him a call'. Well, the rest is history. They did. And I don't think anyone looked back. He was perfect for the job from day one. They gave him the job on the spot."

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Before Goodman found fame on Strictly, he ran a dance school in Dartford, Kent.

Joanne Stone, 50, was one of his pupils in the 1980s who attended disco dancing classes.

"Len was a very encouraging teacher and so patient with those of us that didn't really have a natural talent for dancing," she told the PA news agency.

"He used to make a fuss of you on your birthday and run a little competition on how many jelly sweets you could eat," she said. "I'm a terrible dancer but still smile remembering the lessons I attended."

On the news that Goodman had died, Stone, from Southampton, said: "The news was a shock and I must say I felt a little tearful when I heard."

Sports broadcaster Chris Hollins, who won Strictly in 2009, told BBC News the former judge was the same on screen as off screen. And he could be really grumpy.

"Grumpy Goodman, as I used to call him - he was just my kind of guy," Hollins said. "He dealt with harsh reality, because I wasn't a very good dancer and he gave it to me straight but he always encouraged everybody on the show.

"And let's be honest, he made the show - along with the likes of Sir Bruce Forsyth - the show that is, that we all love in our millions."

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Goodman found fame later in life - he was 60 when he joined Strictly Come Dancing - but it didn't change him, Hollins said.

"All of his comments were the comments he would give his little students in his dance studio in Dartford, it didn't matter if you were a global music star or sports star, they were exactly the same comments.

"And they were always encouraging, sometimes a little bit naughty and close to the mark but always what the dancer wanted."

Let's hear now from Robin Windsor, a former professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, who points to "the outpouring of love" for Len Goodman on social media as proof that he was a "special, wonderful man".

"Len was Len, whether he was on television, backstage, in his dance studio, if you meet him on the street, you would always get exactly the same Len Goodman," Windsor says, adding Goodman wanted "everybody to be their best and do their best".

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He also says that despite the fame and fortune of Strictly and Dancing with the Stars, "to all of us he was one of our own ballroom dancers that we loved and cherished the most".

"The perfect gentleman," Windsor adds.

Thank you for being with us for our coverage following the death of former Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman.

Goodman was the head judge on the BBC’s Saturday night extravaganza from it’s first show in 2004 right the way through until 2016. He was also on the show’s American version, Dancing With the Stars.

Needless to say, tributes have been flooding in for probably one of the UK’s best known ballroom dancers.

Strictly host Tess Daly said, “You were never a seven for me, Len. You were always a 10” - a reference to his famous “Seveeeeeen” catchprase. Her co-host Claudia Winkleman said he was “full of twinkle, warmth and wit”.

Goodman died in Kent on Saturday aged 78.

Stay with us throughout the afternoon as we continue to bring you updates and reaction.

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Strictly judge Anton Du Beke says it's "incredibly difficult to find the words to encapsulate Len, because he was everything, but he was also simply Len."

"Len was different to anyone else in the dancing business - he was a wonderful character, he had a roguishness about him - he had twinkle," says Du Beke, who first met him when he was "a young lad" dancing.

"A national treasure certainly, but more importantly to me he was my friend. I was very lucky to know him. I'm going to miss you, Len," he adds.

Our colleagues over at BBC Radio Kent have shared with us some of the tributes they've received from listeners.

David remembers Len Goodman - who lived in the southern county and ran a ballroom dance school in Dartford - as a "genuine" and "down to earth bloke". He says Goodman used to teach his very young children at the Dartford dance school. "My kids didn’t quite have the twinkle toes needed, but they remembered him all those years on."

Alison Maloney, author of the Strictly Annual, tells Radio Kent that Goodman was a "huge part" of the TV show's success. "He was a new face but he was so knowledgeable and he knew the rules in and out... I just think everybody fell in love with Len."

And Michelle Clarke, a dance teacher from Brighton, speaks of Goodman's likeability. "He was somebody you felt you knew even if you hadn't met him," she tells the station. "He just had that warmth and it came across always in the way that he was on television."

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We've collected some more of Goodman's one-liners, which delighted the dancers and the audience during his time as Strictly head judge.

To TV presenter Anita Rani and Gleb Savchenko after their tango to Cell Block Tango: "It was like a cow pat on Countryfile - hot and steamy."

On The Wanted star Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani's tango: "You were like a chess master - you plotted your way around that floor. That was a mango of a tango. Delicious."

To Kellie Bright and Kevin Clifton after a samba to Boom! Shake The Room: "There are two things I don't like in this world: babies crying and hip hop."

To Savchenko after his and Rani's dance to Unchained Melody: "You flew across the floor like a rampant crab."

On TV presenter Alison Hammond imitating Kate Bush during a Halloween special: "For me, you can't waft enough."

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Some of the professional dancers who worked with Goodman during his years on Strictly are remembering their former colleague and friend on social media.

Aljaz Skojanec, who worked on the show for nine series, said on Instagram: "We both loved our ballroom dancing more than most.

"One of the people I respected and feared most in the ballroom, but then we became such amazing friends, always laughing and cracking jokes.

"We only spoke a couple of weeks ago, and I wish we could’ve cracked one last joke together. And like your last message to me, Len, you were always my favourite too."

Karen Hauer, another long-serving Strictly dancer, described Goodman as a "wonderful human who will be sorely missed. Thank you for that last dance. RIP Len."

And Graziano Di Prima said: "So sad to hear about the death of Len Goodman. RIP LEGEND."