Len Goodman, judge on Dancing With the Stars, Strictly Come Dancing, dead at 78

Len Goodman, long-serving judge in the Dancing with the Stars and Strictly Come Dancing who helped revive interest in ballroom dancing on both sides of the Atlantic, has died, the agent said there. He is 78 years old.

Agent Jackie Gill said Goodman died peacefully. He had been diagnosed with bone cancer.

A former professional ballroom dancer and British champion, Goodman is the head judge Strictly Come Dancing has been running for 12 years since it launched on the BBC in 2004. The dance competition, which pairs celebrities with professional dance partners, is a hit and has become one of the network’s most popular shows.

Goodman’s pithy observations, delivered in a Cockney accent, endeared him to viewers. “You float on the floor like butter on a crumpet,” he said after one foxtrot. He praised the salsa-dancing couple like two “sizzling sausages on a barbecue.”

Fame last life

Goodman is the head judge on the US version of the show, ABC’s Dance With The Stars, for 15 years until his retirement in November. For several years he judged the British and American events together every autumn, crossing the Atlantic every week.

British broadcaster Esther Rantzen said Goodman was surprised and delighted at his eventual fame.

“One of the reasons he’s been so successful in the United States is that he’s so British,” he said. “He is firm but fair, funny but a man, and I hope the nation will use his favorite expostulation ‘pickle me walnuts.'”

Goodman also presents BBC radio programs and makes TV documentaries, including a 2012 program about the sinking of the Titanic. As a young man, Goodman had worked as a welder in a shipyard for a company that built the ships of his destiny.

BBC director general Tim Davie said Goodman was “a wonderful and warm entertainer adored by millions. He appealed to all ages and felt like a member of everyone’s family. Meaninghis success. He will be greatly missed by the community and his many friends and family.

Goodman is also the recipient of the Carl Alan Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to dance, and owns the Goodman Academy dance school in the south of England.