Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman lead tributes to Len Goodman hailing him ‘King’ of Strictly
Len, 72, bowed out of the BBC1 dance contest and his co-stars have paid tribute to his time on the show in a documentary
DEPARTING head judge Len Goodman is hailed as the “king” of Strictly in a documentary to be shown this week.
Hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are among those who pay tribute to the 72-year-old, who yesterday enjoyed time with his family in Tonbridge, Kent.
Claudia, 44, tells the show: “Len is the king of all things ballroom and basically the king of Strictly. Everyone totally respects him.”
And Tess, 47, says: “As far as Strictly is concerned, Len is the daddy.
“There’s so many favourite Len moments, just working with him every week is such a treat, you know that little sparkle in his eye, that cheeky little glint he has.
“I love watching him dance when he comes onto the show at the beginning when we introduce him and he interacts with the audience, he’s high fiving them, he’s gliding past them, jiving up a storm.”
Goodman has starred in the contest since it began in 2004 and Winkleman added: “He is a master, so everyone totally respects him, both on front of camera but also backstage.
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“So if Len wanders down and goes, ‘Yeah, it was a good lift’, everyone goes, ‘Oh, Len liked it’, because he is unfailingly honest but also incredibly knowledgeable.”
Strictly Len Goodman is on Friday at 7pm on BBC1.