Len Goodman was a skilled ballroom dancer, dance instructor, and TV star. Goodman is best known for being the head judge on the reality TV dance competition shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Dancing with the Stars.
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Goodman has also been the host of a number of documentary shows on television and runs a ballroom dance school in Dartford, Kent, England.
Early Life
Leonard Gordon Goodman was born in London, England, on April 25, 1944. He moved to Blackfen when he was 6 years old and then went to Westwood Secondary Modern School. He played cricket for the team.
He was the only one of his siblings who stayed in the family business. His other two brothers and sisters all moved to Newcastle. After he hurt his foot, he began to dance professionally.
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How Much Did Len Goodman Make and What Was His Net Worth?
Len Goodman was a skilled ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and TV personality. At the time of his death, he was worth $18 million. On April 22, 2023, Len Goodman died at the age of 78.
Goodman is best known for being the head judge on the reality TV dance competition shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Dancing with the Stars.”
Goodman has also been the host of a number of documentary shows on television and runs a ballroom dance school in Dartford, Kent, England.
Career Beginnings in Dance
Goodman didn’t start dancing until a later age than most skilled dancers do. He didn’t start working in the field until he was 19. His doctor told him to dance to help heal a foot injury.
This turned out to be a good thing because Goodman soon won a bunch of competitive titles. Goodman stopped dancing when he was in his late 20s. He had just won the British Championships.
“Strictly Come Dancing”
In 2004, Goodman started a new part of his work by becoming the head judge on the BBC reality dance show “Strictly Come Dancing.” On the show, professional dancers team up with famous people to fight for the top prize.
A group of judges gives each pair a score based on how well they dance, mostly ballroom and Latin dances. Up until 2016, Goodman was a part of the show’s panel, which also included Arlene Phillips, Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon, and Darcey Bussell.
In 2016, he made his last appearance on the Christmas Day show. Shirley Ballas took over as head judge the year after Goodman’s term was over.
“Dancing With The Stars”
The year after he started being the head judge on Britain’s “Strictly Come Dancing,” Goodman became the head judge on the American version of the show, “Dancing with the Stars.”
Since then, Goodman has appeared with fellow judges Bruno Tonioli, from “Strictly Come Dancing,” and Carrie Ann Inaba. He was joined by judges Derek Hough and Julianne Hough for five years.
In seasons 21 and 29, Goodman didn’t show up as a judge, but he did give short lessons on different dance types in season 29.
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More About a TV Career
Goodman has been on TV in many other shows besides “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Dancing with the Stars.” In 2006, he fought in a singing and dancing version of the game show “The Weakest Link,” which he won.
Later, Goodman started to host many documentary shows. In the spring of 2012, he led the three-part BBC documentary series “Titanic with Len Goodman,” which remembered the 100th anniversary of the ship’s journey and tragic end.
In the series, Goodman talked to the children and grandchildren of Titanic survivors and showed where they lived in the UK. Next, in 2013, he hosted the BBC shows “Len Goodman’s Dance Band Days” and “Len Goodman’s Perfect Christmas,” and he co-hosted the three-part series “Dancing Cheek to Cheek” with Lucy Worsley.
In 2014, Goodman was in a two-part ITV program called “Secrets from the Clink.” Later that year, he started hosting the BBC documentary series “Holiday of My Lifetime,” in which he and other famous people visit well-known UK holiday spots.
Goodman was the host of the show until 2016. During this time, he and chef Ainsley Harriott led the documentary series “Len and Ainsley’s Big Food Adventure” and the episode “For the Love of Fred Astaire” of the documentary series “Perspectives.”
Goodman also hosted the family game show “Len Goodman’s Partners in Rhyme” in 2017. He has also been on shows like “Football Focus” and “Who Do You Think You Are?”
How much Money Goodman Had when He Died?
Goodman began dancing when he was 19 years old. He went pro and won several titles before he was in his 20s and won the British Championships. He won the Carl Alan Award for his outstanding achievements in the art of dance.
Goodman is best known for being a judge on reality dance shows, but he has also been in and directed a number of TV documentaries, such as Len Goodman’s Dance Band Days and Len Goodman’s Perfect Christmas.
He also did the role of the Professor on the kids’ show Auto-B-Good. At the time of his death, he was worth $18 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. After Goodman retired, he and his wife moved to Kent, England, where they ran their own ballroom dance school.
