For years Len Goodman has been known as the strict but lovable judge on Dancing With the Stars. Goodman has proven that he is hard to please, but that he also has a fun and compassionate side to him, and while many know to take his criticisms and advice to heart, many fans don’t know about his background which led him to the judging table. Here are 10 things you never knew about grumpy yet lovable Len Goodman:
10. Strictly Come Dancing
Len Goodman became a popular TV personality when he joined the judging panel for the revival of UK’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, but he wasn’t confident in the series. “I thought, ballroom dancing, there’s not a lot of interest in that. Or a load of celebrities, many of whom you’ve never heard of. I was so, so wrong,” he said in 2015. Although he became the head judge on the series, he was actually a late addition but was added by producers when they heard his humor. “They were struggling for a fourth judge and I luckily got the call very late for an audition. I had to watch a DVD of people dancing and tell them what I thought. I said it was alright but I didn’t like the routine because it was ‘all sizzle, no sausage.’ Two days later they said they wanted me to be one of the judges.”
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