Len Goodman obituary: From the East End to Strictly Come Dancing studio

In April 2004, the BBC took a immense gamble.

Desperate to find a caller amusement with wide appeal, it had travel up with a seemingly bizarre solution.

Ballroom dancing was profoundly unfashionable. The quickstep and jive hailed from an epoch of Brylcreem and Butlin's holidays. Now, the corp was attempting to marque the nostalgic sphere of a fewer aged enthusiasts the centrepiece of its Saturday nights.

Just days earlier the archetypal show, the producers deed a crisis.

Four judges had been offered contracts: Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, Bruno Tonioli, and a well-known fig from the satellite of dance. At the precise past moment, the 4th justice dropped out.

The BBC was astatine a loss. Dozens of erstwhile satellite champions - giants of their assemblage - had already been interviewed, but nary had been right. The show's nonrecreational dancers were asked if immoderate luminaries had been missed.

Erin Boag, the erstwhile New Zealand champion, tentatively offered a suggestion. "Have you tried Len Goodman?" she asked.

"He's conscionable a creation teacher from Dartford, but he's a spot of a character."

Leonard Gordon Goodman was calved successful Farnborough, Kent, connected 25 April 1944.

He grew up successful London's East End successful an over-crowded two-up, two-down terrace. There was "lots of emotion and laughter, but precise small money", helium recalled.

It was a pugnacious neighbourhood. Two of his uncles had been progressive members of Sir Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists earlier World War Two. When hostilities broke out, aggravated crowds attacked the household location successful Howard Street. Serious injuries were lone prevented erstwhile the dependable of an aerial raid siren dispersed the mob.

The household scraped a surviving selling vegetables from barrows. Goodman's gramps Albert pawned his golden ticker each Monday greeting to bargain the week's supply.

Len watched the aged antheral pull customers with a creaseless patter dotted with earthy phrases. He aboriginal utilized galore of his grandad's lines connected Strictly Come Dancing. "Yum, yum, pig's bum," was 1 of his.

Albert Goodman was bully astatine his job. The barrow became 2 shops successful Bethnal Green - with capable wealth near implicit to bargain Len's parents a greengrocer concern successful Kent.

Soon aft they moved, the matrimony fell apart. Goodman's begetter moved away, and his parent buried the shame of divorcement by throwing herself into her job.

At school, young Len enjoyed shot and cricket - but was nary academic. "It's evident you're ne'er going to magnitude to anything, Goodman," his headmaster declared. "You're a nonaccomplishment successful class. You'll beryllium a nonaccomplishment successful life."

To assistance his mother, helium pushed a barrow of vegetables astir municipality each evening - conscionable arsenic his gramps had. This, Goodman believed, was a much invaluable acquisition than schoolhouse had ever provided - arsenic it taught him however to talk to radical and prosecute them.

At the property of 14, helium went to his archetypal creation class. He had small emotion for the foxtrot, but a keen involvement successful girls. The astir thrilling infinitesimal of the night, helium aboriginal wrote, was the 'excuse me' creation - during which you had to buss your spouse goodbye.

A twelvemonth later, Goodman near schoolhouse "with nary consciousness of nonaccomplishment connected either side". He began an apprenticeship successful an engineering mill but, by his ain admission, was dreadful astatine it.

He took a welding people and recovered enactment successful the Harland and Wolff Royal docks successful Woolwich. It wasn't a occupation helium liked, but it brought successful capable wealth to bask himself astatine weekends.

Goodman became a sharp-dressed Mod, hanging retired connected his Vespa successful Brighton connected Saturday afternoons, trying to debar fisticuffs with gangs of rival Rockers.

Like galore of his generation, helium worshipped stone 'n' rotation and regarded ballroom dancing arsenic thing 'old fogeys' did. Then, helium broke his metatarsal playing shot connected Hackney Marshes, and was advised to find an enactment to assistance physique its spot again.

Joy Tolhurst was a erstwhile satellite champion. At her archetypal creation lesson, Goodman was hampered by wearing a winklepicker connected 1 ft and a carpet slipper connected the other. Slowly, helium fell successful emotion with the some the waltz and Mrs Tolhurst's daughter.

He and Cherry Tolhurst became partners connected and disconnected the floor. Their archetypal contention was a Pontin's sponsored lawsuit astatine the Royal Albert Hall. Goodman practiced successful his beforehand room, with a lamp placed down him - truthful helium could spot his hep enactment successful the shadows.

As the mates sashayed onto the hallowed stage, Goodman heard large bellows from the audience. Fifty-three chap dock workers had hired a manager to travel and enactment him, and were good lubricated up.

When Joy's hubby died suddenly, she asked 22-year-old Len to assistance her teach. Learning from an ex-welder was a daze to students utilized to a poised erstwhile professional.

By 1973, Goodman and Cherry were driving thousands of miles a year, demonstrating the cha-cha-cha and rumba to amateur classes the magnitude and breadth of the country.

They joined and opened their ain creation schoolhouse successful Dartford. The mates won a rising prima contention successful Blackpool - but decided not to vie professionally again.

"I got fed up with the authorities of the business," explained Goodman. "The information that you had to placate and schmooze radical that you didn't truly like, due to the fact that you did not upset them, arsenic they were judges."

The determination took a toll connected his matrimony which, helium admitted, had go much of a creation concern than a relationship.

When the dancing stopped, everything collapsed. Cherry near him for a multi-millionaire Frenchman, leaving Len successful an bare location and with lone fractional a business.

His heartstrings were healed erstwhile helium met Lesley, a erstwhile woman of the manager of Black Sabbath. A twelvemonth later, the mates had a son.

What saved his concern was the movie Saturday Night Fever.

Goodman enactment up posters: "You've heard the music, present larn the dances." There were queues halfway down Dartford High Street and, erstwhile Grease came out, "the seam of golden turned into a full goldmine".

By the clip the BBC rang to suggest helium audition for Strictly Come Dancing, Goodman was astir to crook 60. He was settled with his caller spouse Sue, and their creation schoolhouse was performing well.

In truth, helium wasn't looking for caller challenges. He was hoping to upwind down his concern and play a small golf. But his competitory instincts kicked in, truthful Goodman caught the autobus to Strictly's Elstree studios, wearing his champion tweed suit.

Revel Horwood, Phillips and Tonioli each had backgrounds successful theatre, but nary knew ballroom. Len was acrophobic that the amusement mightiness "take the rise" retired of the subject helium loved - which could destruct his reputation.

To instrumentality part, helium had to interruption a declaration to justice the Blackpool championships - which clashed with the archetypal TV show. It wasn't conscionable the BBC that was taking a gigantic risk: Goodman knew helium would ne'er beryllium asked again.

He decided the champion happening was conscionable to beryllium himself. In the archetypal show, helium trotted retired 1 of his grandad's favourite phrases, "all sausage, and nary sizzle", and rapidly settled in.

The assemblage loved his pithy observations. "It's a beauteous emergence and fall, up and down similar a bride's nightie," helium told 1 tense contestant. "You're conscionable similar a trifle - fruity astatine the apical but a small spot spongy down below," helium informed another.

At heart, helium was a teacher and was speedy to connection applicable advice. But 1 of the show's archetypal brave celebrities, Jason Wood, discovered Goodman had a crisp tongue. "Wood by name, wood by nature," helium said.

With millions watching, the Americans picked up the show. ABC booked Tonioli to look alongside 2 US judges connected the rebranded Dancing with the Stars - lone for past to repetition itself.

One of ABC's picks did not execute good successful the aviator programme. With 24 hour's notice, Goodman was enactment connected a level to Los Angeles.

For much than a decade, helium crossed the Atlantic doubly a week - appearing arsenic caput justice connected some shows simultaneously. While successful LA, helium shared an flat analyzable with Tonioli - with Bruno doing the cooking and Len the ironing.

Goodman's earthy charm worked truthful good connected camera that helium was offered different presenting opportunities. There was adjacent a short-lived BBC crippled show, Partners successful Rhyme.

But, successful his 70s, helium decided the changeless flying backmost and distant had go excessively much. He near Strictly Come Dancing - with overmuch emotion - successful 2016 to ore connected the (much amended paid) ABC version.

Then successful 2022, helium near the US amusement to "spend much clip with my grandchildren and family" successful the UK.

International fame came precocious to Len Goodman. When it did, helium had spent agelong capable successful obscurity for it not to impact him.

He whitethorn ne'er person been a world-class dancer himself, but his easy-going charm made him a earthy TV performer.

For the ex-welder, nary of it was work. "Work," helium insisted, "was thing you didn't similar doing."

"You've heard the look I could've danced for joy?" helium erstwhile wrote. "Well, I person and inactive do."