Len Goodman reveals he’s leaving Dancing with the Stars

The much-loved Strictly Come Dancing legend, Len Goodman, died “peacefully” at the age of 78 just one day before his 79th birthday after the ex-dancer had a battle with bone cancer.

The TV star was surrounded by his family members at a hospice in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where the former head judge died on Saturday night.

Tributes from the showbiz world have poured in for the beloved star following the news of his death.

Speaking in an unearthed interview from last year, Len suggested he may share a similar fate to his late father, who died at the age of 79.

“My dad had the right idea. He loved gardening and he had a stroke while he was out in the garden. He was 79 so if I go the way of my dad, that’ll be next year,” Len told the Mail Online in December 2022.

His comments come after the Strictly judge announced his retirement from showbiz.

Len said he was retiring to spend more time with his wife Sue, and his grandchildren, Alice, seven, and Jack, four.

He then suggested that his interviewer, Jenny Johnston, could write his obituary. He told her: “Just write: ‘He was a dance teacher from Dartford who got lucky’. Because that’s just about the truth of it.”

The small-screen star was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2009, which was treated with surgery at a London hospital.

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In September 2021 it was reported that he had undergone surgery the previous year for a small facial melanoma.

Addressing his health, Len admittedly didn’t want to make a “fuss” about it describing his woes as a car that would eventually “conk out”.

He added: “It’s more about the journey, and mine has been lovely.”

Len previously captured the nation when he signed up for the hit BBC show in 2004.

Famed for his witty one-liners and ‘SevEN!’ scoring catchphrase, the professional Ballroom dancer eventually quit the show after a 12-year stint before taking his talents stateside.

Len was previously married to his champion dance partner Cherry Kingston and the dancers tied the knot at the age of 28 but divorced a couple of years later.

He went on to have a long-term relationship with a woman named Lesley, and they shared a son together, James Goodman, who is now 42.

In early 2000, he met his now-wife Sue, a dance teacher, and married her 10 years later in 2012 in a secret ceremony.

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