Len Goodman
Len Goodman, 2007
Born	Leonard Gordon Goodman 25 April 1944 (1944-04-25) (age 65) Dartford, Kent England
Occupation	Television personality, dance teacher, dancer
Years active	1963–present

Leonard Gordon "Len" Goodman (born 25 April 1944) is a British professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach. He is a leading personality on television dance programmes, and runs a ballroom dance school in Dartford, Kent.^[1]

[edit] Career

Goodman was born in Bethnal Green, London,^[2] the son of Louisa (née Eldridge) and Glen Goodman.^[3] He started dancing at the age of 19 after a short time as an engineering apprentice (for Harland and Wolff in Woolwich). He tried dancing only in an attempt to recover from a foot injury sustained while playing football.^[2] He turned professional, won various competitions, and retired from dancing after winning the British Championships at Blackpool in his late twenties.^[2] He married his dancing partner Cherry Kingston on April 27, 1972. However, they later divorced.^[4] He has a son, James William Goodman, from his second wife Lesley, who also taught dancing at his dance schools in Dartford and Gravesend. James was born on January 26, 1981. He is currently married to his third wife, Sue.^[4]

During the 1970s and early 1980s, his dance school in Dartford was home to a very popular Saturday night youth disco, which helped to keep the majority of Dartford's young people out of trouble.^[5]

He is a recipient of the Carl Alan Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to dance. In 2006 and 2007, he was nominated for the Emmy Award in the Outstanding Reality/Competition Program category.^[6]

He is currently head judge on the BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing, hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly.^[1] He also makes regular appearances on the show's extra programme Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, as well as the show's Christmas specials and one-off show Strictly Ice Dancing (which was an ice skating version of the regular show). He also owns a dance studio in his hometown of Dartford, Kent, where he still lives. He is also one of three judges on the American version of Strictly, called Dancing with the Stars, currently running on the ABC television network.^[1]

[edit] Personal life

Goodman is a staunch West Ham United fan and was featured on the BBC football magazine show Football Focus on 26th September 2009. It caused great controversy, to which he simply replied, "One does not have to support the team where one was born."

Goodman was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2009,^[7] which was treated surgically at a London hospital. The news was kept secret until he made an announcement in late June 2009.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Len Goodman

• Times Interview
• Goodman bio at BBC site
• Goodman bio at ABC's Dancing with the Stars site
• Interview with Len Goodman in local Dartford Living Magazine
• Len Goodman at the Internet Movie Database
• Len offers his advice on public speaking from BBC2's The Speaker
• Goodman celebrates 25 years hosting competitions at Pontin's