Len Goodman: Apprentice fitter who went on to become the best fit for BBC's Strictly

A keen footballer, Goodman's playing days were ended early by a foot injury and a doctor advised him to continue ballroom dancing, which eventually led him to TV stardom on Strictly Come Dancing

Len Goodman: “When I was first asked to do the programme, I wasn’t sure, because I thought it might be a bit of a mickey-take.” File photo: Ian West/PA

Len Goodman, who died of cancer aged 78, had just turned 60 when he found television fame as head judge on Strictly Come Dancing after a professional ballroom career in which he won the British Exhibition Championships and taught at his own school.

“When I was first asked to do the programme, I wasn’t sure, because I thought it might be a bit of a mickey-take,” he told the Guardian in 2006.