Who was Len Goodman? Here’s what people are saying in memory of him

Len Goodman arrives at the premiere for “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, May 19, 2007. Goodman, an urbane long-serving judge on “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing,” has died, his agent said Monday, April 24, 2023. He was 78. A former dancer, Goodman was a judge on “Strictly Come Dancing” for 12 years from its launch on the BBC in 2004. | Matt Sayles, Associated Press

Len Goodman, a former ballroom dancer and judge on BBC’s ballroom competition show “Strictly Come Dancing,” as well as the American version, “Dancing with the Stars,” died on Saturday at the age of 78.

On Monday, his agent, Jackie Gill, said the star had fought bone cancer for some time and worked until a few weeks ago. He died in a hospice center in Kent, England, where his son, James William Goodman, and wife, Sue Barrett, sat with him, per The New York Times.

“He retained his sense of humor during his illness and dealt with it with great dignity,” Gill told the Times. “He was always a true gentleman. He loved his work and never took anything for granted.”

He started dancing at 19, and won the British Rising Stars, the British Exhibition Championships, Dual of the Giants and the World Exhibition Championships. He then founded his own dance academy called the Goodman Academy located in Dartford England, reported the Times.

Starting in 2004, Goodman was a judge on “Strictly Come Dancing” for 12 years, and the show’s American counterpart, “Dancing with the Stars,” for 15 years, until his retirement in late November, reported The Associated Press.

His co-judge on “Dancing with the Stars,” Bruno Tonioli, tweeted that he was heartbroken to lose his “dear friend” and “partner for 19 years.” “There will never be anyone like you, you will always be my perfect 10.”

In a tweet, Shirley Ballas, the head coach of “Strictly Come Dancing,” said, “As I came off Good Morning Britain I heard of the passing of my dearest friend Len Goodman. My past teacher, a dance legend and a true gentleman.” She called him “a shining star in the ballroom.”

Goodman’s sense of humor and poise made him a fan favorite and with compliments such as, “you floated across the floor like butter on a crumpet,” and telling one couple they danced “like two sizzling sausages on a barbeque,” he won the hearts of many, per AP.

To commemorate his time on “Strictly” — as fans lovingly call the show — BBC made this recap of Goodman in 2016.

“One of the reasons he succeeded so well in the States is that he was quintessentially British,” British broadcaster Esther Rantzen told AP. “He was firm but fair, funny but a gentleman and I hope the nation will adopt his favorite expostulation of ‘pickle me walnuts.’”