Len Goodman, (born April 24, 1942) is a professional dance judge who also teaches ballroom and Latin dancing at the school he runs in Dartford, Kent, UK. Born in Bethnal Green in April 1942, he started dancing around the age of 20 after a short time as an engineering apprentice (for Harland and Wolff in Woolwich), having tried dancing only in an attempt to recover from a foot injury sustained whilst playing football. He turned professional, won various competitions, and retired from dancing after winning the British Championships' "Rising Star" competition at Blackpool in his late twenties. He married his dancing partner Cherry, and although they later divorced, they had one son, James, who is also a dancer.
During the 1970's and early 1980's 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.
He is currently head judge on the BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing, hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly. He is known for having a cheeky sense of humour, often lacing his comments with double entendres. 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.
The popularity created by Strictly Come Dancing has earned him a place as head judge on a similar US programme called Dancing with the Stars, currently running on the ABC television network.
