Len Goodman brought “magic” to Strictly Come Dancing for 12 years with his catchphrases – but, according to Craig Revel Horwood, his replacement failed to deliver them as well as he did.
The late Goodman was known for his one-liners and enthusiastic delivery of the score “seven!”, which is still often quoted by fans of the BBC dance programme.
Shirley Ballas, 65, stepped in as head judge when Goodman left the show in 2016. He died years later, aged 73 in 2023.
Judge Revel Horwood, 61, paid tribute to the star at a statue unveiling over the weekend – taking a comedic jab at Ballas in the process.
“For me, he was Strictly Come Dancing,” he told an audience gathered at the Goodman Dance Academy in Dartford, according to The Mirror.
“His sayings... ‘A 10 from Len’ was a huge one. Shirley has tried to replicate that one, but sadly, she failed.”
He continued: “I loved Len. If you looked at the TV we were constantly fighting like cat and dog, but as soon as we came off stage, we’d have a pally drink together.”
Revel Horwood, who is now the same age Goodman was when Strictly started in 2004, said the show wouldn’t have “survived” without him, as he was the one who turned it into what it is.
“I miss him from the bottom of my heart. Whenever I hear the Strictly theme music, I always think of Len Goodman and Bruce Forsyth,” he said. Forsyth hosted the show alongside Tess Daly.
The Independent has contacted Ballas for comment.
Goodman died days before his 79th birthday in April 2023, after being admitted to a hospice in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
As well as Strictly, Goodman served as a judge on Dancing with the Stars, the US version of the competition from 2005 to 2022. He announced his retirement from TV work six months before his death.
Ballas, who was a world champion during her professional career, has often spoken candidly about the toll judging the show takes on her mental health.
The head judge traditionally has the deciding vote if a dance-off results in a deadlock, and Ballas has frequently found herself on the receiving end of relentless messages about her decisions.
Ballas admitted in 2023 that the trolling once left her on the verge of quitting the show, explaining: “Some of the messages were so cruel. Just, how ugly you are and how fat you are, and how you’ve got horrible arms, and, ‘You don’t like men. You don’t like women. You don’t like Black men. You don’t like Black women.’ And then once it starts steamrolling, it goes even further.”
For 2025, Strictly bosses switched things up so that a different judge was given the deciding vote each week.
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