Len Goodman was the head judge in Strictly Come Dancing for 12 years and Dancing with the Stars US for 17 years. These shows are dancing shows in which celebrities team up with professional dancers to compete with other contestants. Len was a household name as the head judge for these popular dancing shows. So, Why did Len Goodman leave Strictly?
Len Goodman was a British ballroom dance expert, a dance coach, and a dance competition adjudicator. He was a person who enjoyed dancing, and his whole career revolved around it. In his show, celebrities and their partners give tough competition to one another, and this makes the show very popular.
The professional ballroom dancer owns a ballroom dance school which is in Dartford, Kent. He runs and manages it so that more people take the culture of Ballroom dance further. So, when he was so into dance, then what happened, and why did Len Goodman choose to leave Strictly Come Dancing?
Who Is Len Godman?
Len Godman, or Leonard Gordan Godman, was born in Farnborough, Kent, in London. It is a small village in southeastern Greater London, and from there, he moved to Bethnal Green which is an area in the East End of London. His grandfather was a fruit/vegetable seller, and as a child, Goodman used to help him look after the vegetables.
When he was a kid, he moved to Blackfen. There, he was admitted to a school and joined a cricket team. At the age of 19, he was suffering from a foot injury for which his doctor suggested Goodman dance. Therefore, he began dancing.
From dancing for a foot injury to dancing for dollars and shows, Goodman had a great time. He became a professional dancer and won various shows and competitions, defeating many dancers. After garnering endless appreciation, Goodman decided to retire. When he was in his late twenties, he won the British Championships at Blackpool and retired from dancing. Carl Alan Award was also in Goodman’s way. The professional dancer was also nominated for Emmy Awards for a show he was doing in 2006-07.
Why Did Len Goodman Leave Strictly?
Len Goodman was associated with two shows, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars. In Strictly Come Dancing, he entered the shows as the head judge in 2004. Bruno Tonioli, Arlene Phillips, and Craig Revel Horwood were the other judges on the panel. However, Arlene Phillips had to quit the show and was replaced by Alesha Dixon. In a few months, Alesha was replaced too, and Darcey Bussell succeeded her. In 2016, Goodman announced that he would no longer continue with the show and would leave it by the fall of 2016. On December 25, 2016, he appeared for the final time in the show and bid farewell to it. Later, Shirley Ballas was appointed as the head judge.
Along with Strictly Come Dancing, he was the judge of Dancing with the Stars too. He wanted to continue being a judge there. Also, he said that as he was growing old, he wanted to spend more time with his family. Later, in 2022, he left Dancing with the Stars too. His reason was the same, but it is said that Goodman predicted his death four months before his dismissal. Hence, he left the show (rumor). Lastly, Len Goodman is no more around us. He died on April 22, 2023.
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More About Len Goodman
Apart from dancing, he was also a part of Various Television shows. In 2005, he was the voice of a Professor in a kid’s show, Auto-B-Good. This was one of the hits shows of that time, with five Emmy Awards in their bags. In 2007 and 2008, he was signed to be an anchor for an international ballroom dance competition, Eurovision Dance Contest. These are the initial successes for Goodman.
After these shows, he worked with PBS for BBC One for a very auspicious event. So, he was signed to host a documentary that was released on BBC One. This documentary was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the voyage and sinking of the then-strongest cruise ship Titanic. On BBC Four, he had his shows in 2013. These shows were Len Goodman’s Dance Band Days and Len Goodman’s Perfect Christman. Len hosted them all.
Len became a household name and was a well-known face taking part in endless shows and competitions. Besides these works, he was also featured in radio shows. In 2013, he was called on Sunday shows on BBC Radio 2. After a few years, he hosted Boom Radio for three special bank holiday shows.
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