Strictly Len Goodman

Mr Len Goodman, everyone.

CHEERING

Thank you, Len!

People think I'm rough and ready, you know,

which I am, sort of, you know.

I'm not what you imagine a dance teacher or judge to be.

Three words describe Len Goodman.

Dull, dull, dull.

Well, no, not really.

Brilliant, clever, kind.

Old-school gent.

The godfather of dance.

Wonderful, exciting, vibrant.

Yeah, I'm a bit like a James Bond Martini. I'm shaken, not stirred.

Len, to me, is always the wisest, wisest man.

He's a charmer.

I can imagine him being a bit of a cad in his younger days.

He's like everybody's grandad that people find funny.

I'll tell you what. You're full of talent.

I won't tell you what Craig's full of.

LAUGHTER Listen...

He's like that wonderful coach or that teacher you've always wanted.

He's witty. He has an incredible personality.

The Don of ballroom.

Len - well named. He's a good man.

BEEPING

LEN LAUGHS

-Good morning.

-Morning.

-Morning.

Ha-ha!

It was early in 2004

that in our little world of ballroom dancing

the word went out,

the BBC are going to do a new Come Dancing-type programme.

Some of my friends had been up to be interviewed for the judging job,

and they used to phone me up and say,

"Oh, I just went up to this new show, Strictly Come Dancing,

"I've just had an interview."

"Oh," I said, "lovely."

They said, "You been up?" I said, "No, no."

Anyway, it got on my wick so much,

in the end, I just lied and I said,

"Yeah, I went up, but I don't fancy doing it, really."

But in actual fact, no-one had asked me.

And it was getting closer and closer to when it was going to be out

and the producer had spoken to Erin Boag

and she said, "What about Len Goodman?"

So, I got the call.

Blow me tight, two days later,

"We'd like you to be the judge."

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I remember exactly that first show.

I remember waiting backstage to go on.

And I thought, "This is a bizarre world I'm in here."

I was 60 years old,

and there I am on a television programme.

'That was fantastic.

'Beautiful footwork. You even...'

You know, so I was a bit anxious and so on.

And I spoke to the producer,

and she said, "Are you all right? You ready?"

I said, "Well, I'm a bit nervous, to be honest.

"I don't want to come over wooden."

And she said the best thing for me.

She said, "Be yourself and be honest,"

and that's what I've always tried to do.

MUSIC: Strictly theme

There'd been ballroom dancing shows before and Come Dancing,

but nothing like Strictly,

and to take people from different genres

and put them on a ballroom dance floor,

it was just, "Really? Are you being serious?"

I was convinced that this show would not work.

I promise you.

I thought, "No-one's interested in ballroom dancing."

-In the cha-cha-cha...

-Yes?

-..I look for three things.

-Oh!

Rhythm, rhythm, rhythm.

Why? Why? Why?

# Delilah! #

Never mind. Seriously...

I'd go to the barber's to have my hair cut

and the geezer would be chatting away.

"What do you do for a living?" I'd say I was a builder.

I'd never say, "I'm a ballroom dan..." "What?!"

Strictly Come Dancing got rid of all that.

You know, we had Martin Offiah, a great big rugby guy, on there,

and he was having a go and enjoying himself.

And so it became a credible thing to do.

I remember the day very well.

I'm in the studio

and the door opens and in walks this massive bloke.

If I'm honest,

I took quite a lot of stick in a lot of quarters,

but something I always knew in life, you know,

if you're taking stick, you're doing something right.

At the beginning, he said,

"I'm only going to wear black, I'm not going to wear Lycra,

"don't stick any sparkles on me."

By the end of the show,

he was fully covered in rhinestones, tight Lycra,

and he walks out of the dressing room

and he turns around and he goes, "Does my bum look big in this?"

He's still dancing today.

I did a show with him only a few months ago.

Who would have thought, after all these years?

I have this ballroom thing now.

People come up and start talking about

how they did ballroom dancing when they were young

and, like, before you know it,

you're at someone's house doing a jive, and...!

Yeah, it's crazy.

Strictly touches so many people in so many different ways.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You see these guys go on it, and week one,

"No, I won't have any sequins. You'll never see me in a sequin."

By the time three weeks is over, there they are,

they look like the glitter ball.

Erin and Martin, absolutely wonderful.

What happened to that man that I knew about eight or ten weeks ago?

What happened to him?

He's changed slightly, but don't tell anyone.

I won't tell a soul.

I think the fact that Bruce was on the show, week one, as compere,

it gave it credibility.

You know, if Bruce Forsyth,

who's done so many amazing things for 50 years,

is going to be part of this show, it must be something worthwhile.

Sit down. I'm not royalty.

-LAUGHTER

-Yet.

And I think it was an inspired choice,

because he not only could communicate nicely

with the judges, with the...

He was always on the couple's side.

And all that has made you my favourite.

You're my favourite. You're my favourite.

-CHEERING

-Thanks, Bruce!

If he ever says to you, "You're my favourite," you're like that...

"Life made!"

You're my favourites. Go on, off you go.

That's it. Well done.

He had such a warmth about him. Quick-witted.

Who can ever forget the time Mark Ramprakash was live

and the mic pack came off and got twisted round whatever?

He came to the rescue.

No, I love it. This is live television.

That's what it's all about. Live television. So, start...

Get the microphone in the right place, or get rid of the damn thing.

If anything goes wrong on live television, which it usually does,

then here is a safe pair of hands who can absolutely deal with that,

enjoy it, even.

Who's this? Who are you?

LAUGHTER

THEY SPLUTTER

OK.

Let us know when you're ready, my darlings, OK?

-INDISTINCT

-Don't worry, no.

If something happens like that, that's show business, OK?

Here we go.

As it's gone on,

it's become more and more aware

that this is not a walk in the park.

This is not...

sitting in the jungle, eating a couple of blooming maggots

or whatever, you know?

This is... You're in it and it's hard and it's tough,

and it's long hours and it's great pressure.

They come into it thinking

it's all just glitter and make-up and hairdo

and, yeah, they'll do a little bit of dancing, that'll be fun.

But actually, to get further in the competition, you need to work hard.

Oh, my goodness.

I had no idea just how all-consuming

this programme is.

Oh, yes!

You wake up with it in your mind, you dance through the day,

you go to bed with it, you dream about it

and you're back in again in the morning.

It is 24/7 relentless.

Ahhh! Hips, hips, hips.

Don't forget your hips.

Ah, you're like a little jellyfish.

The whole way through,

the range of emotions you go through

is like nothing I've ever known.

From happiness, sadness, frustration, anger -

everything you go through.

It really does take over your whole life,

and your family and your kids and your other jobs,

sort of, take a back seat for a while, where you're like,

"Excuse me, I'm trying to...

"Is it three, two, one, step, turn, two, dip, dip?"

MUSIC: That's Life

That is the longest lasting fleckerl I've ever seen on Strictly.

I never knew what a fleckerl was before this programme,

but now it's just part of my everyday vocabulary.

"Just going to fleckerl down the shops."

Or, "I just need to have a little fleckerl with my friends."

It's weird, but this is the secret of the mind

of Strictly Come Dancing.

You took an old dancing trick,

the longer you do something, people start clapping,

and you just went on and on and on with that fleckerl.

Which I didn't mind. I thought it was a terrific performance.

CHEERING

We like to see somebody who, week one, is struggling, you know, OK,

and then week two, they get a little bit better, but not much,

and you see a development, you see them improving,

and you see them working through and getting better and better.

And what's great with Strictly Come Dancing,

it doesn't get easier the further it goes.

The J word, the journey. Vital in Strictly.

We used to say it all the time on It Takes Two

until there was this sort of klaxon.

It was like on QI. "Don't say it!"

But it is lovely watching somebody just, sort of...

like a duckling, like, just "Ahhh," totally unfurl.

Just kind of apprehensive, nervous, so...in I go.

-Hello.

-First dance - jive.

The thing with Louise was, she wasn't that confident.

She felt like the other contestants in the show

were sort of younger than her

and more confident than her and she didn't have that about her

and she kept, sort of, apologising for it.

And then, it was actually a comment that Len made during the show.

For me, you're on a plateau.

We've got to come out now and dance with that clarity and purity,

but also a little bit more "Wow!"

They were the most important words I've heard

throughout my Strictly experience, cos I think that was the comment

that made me think, "Oh, no, Len, I'm not plateauing. No way!"

Without that comment,

I think I would have just carried on holding back.

When she went onto the floor, she was so fired up,

just so in character, and she started adding things in

that she still doesn't even remember doing.

Like, I was supposed to grab her face at one point,

and she turned round to me and grabbed my face,

just cos she was so in the character.

CHEERING

I think that was a real turning point for her,

because then, you know, suddenly, she let go of some inhibitions

and everyone clapped her for it and they gave her a great score,

and everyone went, "That was amazing."

'Len Goodman.'

From Len, the 10.

CHEERING

Really, no-one should ever get a ten,

because no-one is perfect,

so I always think of a ten as being better than a nine

and as good as you're going to ever get.

CHEERING

You know, when people say, "You gave them a ten..."

HE GRUMBLES Yeah.

Because the whole thing, as a thing, was terrific.

Highest score of the night, your highest score,

and I love these guys shouting, "Ten, ten, ten, ten".

People go on to Strictly Come Dancing,

I think it does a lot for them.

We see a lot that we didn't know about them,

but I think they learn a lot about themselves.

MUSIC: Reach Out, I'll Be There

I thought Jay had the perfect journey.

A little bit unsure of himself, a few mistakes, faltering.

CHEERING

Going into it,

I just really, really didn't want to embarrass myself,

and it took me a while to realise

the only way you're not going to embarrass yourself

is if you just don't get embarrassed,

cos things are going to go wrong. You might wear something

you wouldn't wear on the street, but if you don't feel embarrassed,

you're not going to embarrass yourself.

-That was really fun.

-That was really fun?

-The best one ever.

-They're louder than the O2, this lot, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-You were doing really well. Thanks.

-You're shaking like crazy! Bless!

And then over time, the longer you stay in,

then you do definitely think, "Ah, I want to be in next week,"

and those lights flying around and you're waiting for the red one

and you're like, "Don't go on me! Go on Ainsley!"

I wasn't thinking that, really, but you know.

Jay and Aliona.

CHEERING

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Come here.

Gradually, confidence, better dancing,

and the jive he came out with, that jive was absolutely a knockout.

MUSIC: You Never Can Tell

It was to Pulp Fiction,

so Aliona would put little... comments of the film into the dance.

It just all worked. It was just lovely.

MUSIC: Pumpkin And Honey Bunny/Misirlou

The way that Aliona choreographed

was just sort of, "Push me, push me, push me,"

and then my brain would just stop working

and we'd put in a little bit from Pulp Fiction,

and I could just breathe.

And so it ended up just, sort of, fitting us really well,

and I didn't have any idea

that people were going to think that was really cool.

I just enjoyed every second.

I think it was the first dance I did that had very minimal mistakes.

And it was such a reward at the end.

I remember the noise in the room was crazy.

I remember thinking, like, "I don't understand."

-CHEERING

-That was amazing!

-Thank you.

You know, there's certain dances that you get

where the routine and the music

and the chemistry between the couple all comes together,

and you just get something that is just fantastic.

And that was Jay's jive.

That is the best dance so far this season - no question.

It feels great when he notices you do a good thing,

because you work so hard, and to have someone who, you know,

is, like, sponging in everything that you're doing

and appreciates when it's good, it makes it worth it.

Jay and Aliona.

When you hear expressions, old-fashioned expression,

"I could have danced for joy", you know, it's a saying,

because dance is a joyful thing, should be joyful.

MUSIC: Mambo No 5

I'll tell you who was a hero of mine.

Jake Wood.

He started off, he was all right,

you know, not the worst, not the best,

just, you know, OK, middle of the road.

He came out and did the blooming salsa.

It was so unexpected

and it was so full of life, it was so joyful to watch.

I always know what I like, because after they've all danced,

I think, "Who would I like to watch again if I had to?"

You know, nothing to do with the dance-off, just as a...

And that week...

I could watch Jake Wood do that three or four times,

cos it was fabulous.

Spank me gently with a wet chamois!

Oh, yes!

Honestly!

Your bum, it was like you were chewing a toffee. It was going...!

Oh! That... I tell you.

-Whew!

-Your timing...

-That... Fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Phenomenal.

CHEERING

The fact that it's live,

I think that gives it a terrific energy, you know?

There's no, "Oh, if you go wrong, we'll just film it again."

MUSIC: Blame It On The Boogie

They're out there. Go wrong and that's it

and the judges will say, "Oi, you went wrong."

You know, I remember Matt Di Angelo,

he just totally lost... lost the whole thing.

And, of course, us judges, we had to...

go about telling him that, "Well, what do you want us to do?"

Len, how about you?

Well, it's a bitter pill to swallow, Matt,

but nerves have done you in, sunshine.

You know, the corta jaca, you had... AUDIENCE SHOUT OUT

Well, it's the truth. I'm not telling him stories.

I want him to do good.

My mum was so distraught that I'd been nasty to this little boy,

that she phoned up six times, just to save him,

and he was saved, you know?

And I think that's the other lovely thing.

We have our input as judges, but the viewers can disagree with us

or they've got their fan favourites and they can phone up and say,

"Oh, those nasty judges, putting him last.

"It's not right. I'm going to...

"I'll phone up and save him."

Which happens.

Perfect example is the season of 2016,

where Ed Balls was constantly bottom of the leaderboard,

bottom of the leaderboard,

and constantly coming back week after week after week.

That's a sight I don't think I ever wish to see again.

I mean...

-BOOING

-Oh!

People like to see people go out of their comfort zones,

to do something which can be beautiful,

but if you're not good at it, isn't,

and there's something about the endeavour and the effort.

MUSIC: (Is This The Way To) Amarillo

People really like it and laugh when things go wrong,

but seeing a total novice actually do it well

is quite exciting and uplifting.

Oh, look, they're doing the lift again!

-CHEERING

-They're doing the lift!

-Oh, no! No!

Thank you, Ed!

It's almost like you have to give in to the dance.

You've just got to give yourself to it.

And I think you've got to stop worrying

about all these other little bits, which is really hard,

cos you're totally under the microscope.

But I think it is just enjoying it, working really hard

and having a great partner.

You get those three things, everyone loves you, it's great.

-"Oh, my God, he's going to drop her! "He's going..."

-He didn't drop her.

What a titanic effort.

There's one thing, though, I have to say,

you always take us places I would never expect.

A lot of the time, you know, it's all about expectations.

This is the trouble with hitchhiking.

You always get a dodgy lift.

LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE

You get somebody like Ed Balls, who's a politician,

and you think, "Oh, he's going to be dreadful,"

and when they're not as dreadful as you think,

they somehow jump up in your expectation

and suddenly, Ed Balls,

who I thought would be absolutely awful,

isn't absolutely awful.

'Dancing the salsa, Ed Balls and Katya Jones.'

Now, he's no Rudolf Nureyev, but he is...

You know, he gives it a go. He's a trier.

MUSIC: Gangnam Style

You've just got to think, "Bang, here goes."

Just give it everything,

and if it goes wrong, keep going, keep smiling,

just totally commit.

You do tend to remember the funny ones and the entertaining ones

more than you do the proper lovely dances.

And I can so see the viewers wanting to see Ed Balls come back.

I'm sure if I wasn't a judge and I was sitting at home,

"That did make me laugh, Sue,

"I'm going to phone up and vote for him."

You know, because you want to see him again. Why wouldn't you?

MUSIC PLAYS

I love the fact that you get... on any given series,

you can have amazing dancing and not so amazing dancing,

and it's all still part of the same thing

and you can find each one incredible to watch.

Its uniqueness is largely due to the wonderful celebrities

we've had in that ballroom.

MUSIC: Reach For The Stars

We've seen some fantastic dance routines over the years,

and some really bad ones, too, which have been equally brilliant.

Craig?

-Dumbo springs to mind.

-Oh!

I mean, there's been great celebrities on the show,

for good reasons and bad reasons, really.

The stand-out moments, I mean, you've got Alesha Dixon,

who was just completely wonderful from start to finish.

MUSIC: I Love To Boogie

Mark Ramprakash, Colin Jackson, Ann Widdecombe...

I mean, Ann Widdecombe...

Who would have thought Ann Widdecombe would do the show?

CHEERING

MUSIC: My Heart Will Go On

I'd heard a rumour that Ann Widdecombe was going to do the show

and then she actually walked in.

You can't believe it until you see her.

I thought, "This is going to be interesting."

HE CALLS OUT

But she turned out to be this incredible person

who loved to be a part of the show.

Ann Widdecombe?

Remarkable. She's 64 years old.

I was spinning her round the floor by her ankle.

MUSIC: Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel

You can't do that to ladies of a certain age.

Sort of inappropriate.

And she sort of went, "Wheee!"

and enjoyed herself.

That's Strictly Come Dancing.

There's no point the judges sort of criticising that, going,

"You didn't point your feet."

"Thank you very much, if that was the least of your problems."

CHEERING

It's about creating a moment that people want to see again and again,

and it frustrates me when people say, "They're not very good,

"they're taking places from the good dancers."

-Are we meant to be doing this?

-Yes, please. Yeah. Go on, then.

-Well, why aren't you?

-Leave off! Cos I'm the pro.

I love the fact that the underdogs,

if they start from here, if they're doing this,

then they stay on the show.

If the people that start really good start here and they just do this,

you may as well go home, that's boring.

I've learnt the mystery of crop circles now.

You must be practising in a cornfield, cos you keep...!

It did make me laugh.

-So, are you looking forward to the show tonight?

-Yeah!

-Yeah. I always look forward to it.

-Mm-hm.

-You know?

Because what's been great with this series, you don't know...

One week, so-and-so's really good and up there,

then they have a bit of a drop down

-and somebody else goes climbing up.

-Mm.

-It's what makes it interesting, isn't it?

-It's what makes it great.

The thing is, when you're judging, you judge with your brain,

you're judging the technique, the quality of movement,

the rhythmic interpretation, musicality - all that stuff.

If you're at home, just the general public,

it's a television show and you want to be entertained,

and if someone comes out and the judges put them last,

but you enjoy them and you think they're great

and you want to see them again, you phone up and vote for them.

And that's the balance, and I think it's good.

It's a good thing that, you know, we have our say and what we think,

and then the viewers have their say and say what they think.

What do you reckon?

I'm just going to practise my boyish grin while I'm sitting here.

You've just got so good at that, Len. Fantastic.

-The girls go mad, you know.

-They do.

I don't know who they're going to get to replace me, but...

-I'm going to miss you.

-Well, the thing is with me,

-I am a bit of eye candy for the viewers.

-You are.

So, they've not only got to find someone

that knows a little bit about ballroom and Latin,

-they've got to be easy on the eye.

-Yeah.

All right?

Good, eh? Now, have you been here before?

-ALL:

-No.

-Is it bigger or smaller?

-ALL:

-Smaller.

-Thank you.

Who's your favourite?

When Strictly was going to begin

and I knew who the other judges were,

I thought, "This is queer.

"It's a ballroom and Latin competition,

"they should have four ballroom and Latin people."

But I was so wrong.

If you'd have had four from my world,

you'd have got four very similar critiques.

As it is, and as it's always been, it's great.

CHEERING

Because I'm the old fuddy-duddy ballroom dancer,

so I want to see proper footwork and, you know, if I had my way,

every ballroom dance would be done in tails and so on.

Then, you get Craig, who's from the world of the stage and a director,

so he's looking for different aspects.

Darcey's looking for fluidity of movement.

Bruno's looking for the passion of the dance, you know?

So, between the four of us, you sort of get a rounded critique.

We all look at dance through the eyes of our experiences.

CHEERING

Craig and me are the Yin and Yang,

and then there is, you know, Len in the middle

that almost, kind of, controls the situation.

-Feels like it was just plonked...

-No, no. Sorry.

-The arm...

-It's true, Bruno.

-The arms... Craig, I am sorry.

-Rubbish. Bruno...

-The arm...

-It's not moved from his body.

It's just, literally, an arm placement

and that's all we end up getting.

-Bruno, keep quiet.

-Behave!

-Keep quiet.

With Craig, he can never see any positives.

Sometimes, Bruno can never see any negatives.

Darcey's lovely.

I mean, that is difficult to do, from the very first move.

-APPLAUSE

-There was no harm...

I'm not denying that. I'm not denying that, Darcey,

but it's meant to be done with style and panache.

And a pointed foot would be nice.

Yeah, but he didn't hop. I've seen so many people hop doing that...

Yeah, he didn't hop, but it looked very pedestrian.

-No, it was controlled, it was very good.

-Honestly!

When I'm judging,

I personally look for artistry and musicality

and, of course, technique, on top of that,

and I'm a real stickler for that,

and that's probably why my scores

are the lowest overall out of anybody,

because I do believe that if you've got numbers ranging from one to ten,

one should use them all.

What a load of Bolognese, honestly.

Absolute non... Craig.

I tell you... He just says things for effect. It is nonsense.

Honestly, I tell you, you handled that well. Your top was great.

It had more polish than Number Ten's front door.

Always actually, when I look at all of the judges, I'm always like,

I can't believe he's been doing this for 12 years.

And you are still, dedicatedly,

obsessed with this show. And I love that. I love it.

I see things that gladden my heart - like Mark Benton,

he was great.

MUSIC: U Can't Touch This

Then, when Craig says nasty nasty nasty, I can't believe it.

I go, "What are you on about?" I can't believe it.

It was all very flat footed and stompy.

BOOING

The cha-cha-cha that you actually did was danced,

I'm afraid, very badly.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

But he's just as right, really, as I am,

because what he sees isn't what I see and that's how it should be.

I'll tell you what you had in there,

you had so many basic steps - New Yorks,

time steps, Cuban breaks, you did a fan and a hockey stick.

I tell you what,

Mark, do it again.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERS

Dancing is taste.

I do like a Brussels sprout.

Maybe you don't like a Brussels sprout,

that doesn't make you wrong and me right.

It's taste, it's what you like.

It's a rumba. You can't change what it is, Craig.

I'm not having a pop at you, it's a rumba.

You're allowed to choose what steps you use from the rumba.

-You don't have to use every one...

-But there were none, sunshine.

-There were some. There were some. In your defence, there were.

-Yeah.

People think, if we have a little argument, that we don't like each

other. It's nothing to... We're as good mates as you could be.

You know, is just I don't agree with Craig saying whatever and so on.

So, yeah, we're great friends.

If you take on board what Craig tells you, it'll set you back weeks.

Hm, I know I get him very irritated sometimes with my gesticulations.

When he has to duck and dive, to avoid being slapped in the face,

but that's part of the fun. "What are you doing? Stop it!" You know.

But that's what I like about him, he's very direct.

Those placements, those moves have to be cut like...

-OK!

-Here we go.

-You've got to...

-Aw!

CHEERING DROWNS WORDS

There are no half measures with Fosse.

Thank goodness he gets grumpy, because we'd enjoy everything

far too much. So when he gets grumpy it's like, "Yes, you're right, Len."

It's like, "God, I wish I'd seen that," you know.

ETHEREAL MUSIC

-DARCEY:

-I do enjoy it when he gets to the point straightaway.

No faffing around.

He hates all the beginnings of dances,

"Come on, just get on with the moves.

"What was all that setting the scene?" I said,

"It's quite nice to set the scene, Len."

He goes, "No, don't want that."

# Our hearts were free

# And we surrendered to a kiss... #

I tell you what I don't like -

and I do understand with the pros that they have to do it sometimes -

I hate the faffing about.

If you get somebody who's not, let's say a natural,

if we're being polite,

you faffed. You faffed at the top, you faffed at the end.

If you get a little faff in the middle, then you're very happy.

'You knew the other three wouldn't mind.'

So you hope that Len, while you were dancing, was the last one to speak.

Because if he was, you could get away with it, 3 to 1.

But if he was first up, he'd say,

"No, there's too much faffing at the top, I can't stand all that."

My nan was always moaning at my grandad,

"Get off the settee and get started."

That's what I felt with you.

There was too long messing about on the settee thing,

but the actual bit of dancing is good.

Let's take a Viennese waltz,

I know Len would love a fleckerl, very traditional, very basic,

so I'll do a full fleckerl, I know Len will love that.

Then, I need to do a bit of artistic, a bit of drama at the

beginning and at the end,

so that obviously Bruno and Craig can get into that feeling

and I need to make sure my partner does beautiful arms,

so that Darcey can pick up the extension of the leg and the arm.

When we put together a routine and we do, let's say for example,

I did it with Lesley this year, in the waltz.

We did a double reverse spin...

..which is a lovely heel turn for the lady.

She steps aside and crosses her feet.

APPLAUSE

The man has a toe pivot.

Well, I can do the toe pivot very naturally, cos I'm very good,

but for Lesley, it's very difficult. It's a very technical step.

I only did that for Len.

APPLAUSE

Len, you are a traditional, kind of, guy,

-did you enjoy that traditional waltz?

-I did, indeed.

I like to see the gentleman dressed as Anton is and I like to

see elegant and sophisticated ladies, as I got with Lesley.

You go out of your way to teach a double reverse spin.

What am I doing?! It's really difficult, it took hours.

I should've gone side together side,

slosh about a bit and then Bruno would have been ecstatic.

You really came out and performed it.

It was a fitting dance for this wonderful ballroom - elegance,

glamour and sophistication. Well done.

-It's your best dance, no question.

-Thank you.

When he speaks you, kind of, get nervous, because you really,

really want to impress him, so he's got that high authority about him

that everybody just wants to make him happy.

You just respect the guy.

He's an absolute gentleman, but he's an expert in this field.

There was moments of tango, moments of pasa doble,

but in addition, there were moments of magic. Well done.

I think he is that one judge that looks out for those small little

moves that, as a contestant on the show, you work really hard to

get and he always picks up on them.

I don't know, it kind of makes you proud.

You just look at Len and you go, "Please like me".

I think that's what we all want, just to be liked by Len.

'There's a buzz in the studio.

'The big buzz is because of the couples.'

They've spent the whole week learning the dance.

So, I think they have got a bit of pressure on them

and there's tension.

-Next to Classy Darcey?!

-Yeah.

-Yeah!

-Most definitely.

It's all about anticipation, I think, for the judges.

You're anticipating what's going to happen.

Are they going to do it, are they going to pull it off?

You know, last week, their footwork weren't good.

Have they nailed that a bit better? Last week, somebody else...

their hold wasn't good, have they worked on it?

So, there's that anticipation coming from us.

-I'm going to thumb a lift up there this time.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

-Keep your eye on my dicky, won't you?

-Always.

-Always.

-That it?

-Perfect.

-Woo.

Cheerio.

It's a really...sort of builds,

because we have to get there about one o'clock, or half past one,

we turn up at the studio so we've got four or five hours of... Well,

it's mainly for Bruno and Craig to get their make-up, on I think(!)

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much, sir.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Good luck up that end.

Coming through.

So, we've got all that build up,

build up, build up and then, then we're on.

-Danny Mac.

-Oh!

-Good luck.

-Good luck to you, my Claudini.

-Have a lovely show.

-You have a lovely show.

-I'll see you up there.

-Yes.

The joy, even if you're sleepy... I've currently got a cold, which is

why I've got seven layers of foundation on, really sorry.

But you come in and just the excitement and the buzz

and the noise. You'll see through the corridors,

people are trying on clothes,

the amazing hair and make-up team, the costumes - all of it,

that is thrilling.

Hey, ho!

The energy crackles, you can stand at the top of the stairs when

we're about to go down and Claudia and I look at each other and...

We have our little secret signal that we have just before we start

the show. it's our little good luck sign.

Best not share it or else... It might not work any more!

Here comes Claudia.

STRICTLY THEME PLAYS A-ha!

We just looked at each other and go, "It's happening."

The adrenaline kicks in and it's an incredible buzz.

ENTRY MUSIC FINISHES

CROWD CHEERS

-Please welcome...

-The judges!

-Here we go, I'm on.

APPLAUSE

Bruno Tonioli.

Craig Revel Horwood.

-Darcey Bussell.

-And Len Goodman.

CHEERING

The judges, everyone.

Tess and Claudia are like two sides of a coin. One is very...

..exactly on the money and correct and, then, Claudia is more jovial

and fun. They work together absolutely beautifully.

Every time you go near a prop, you let it go and it's a disaster.

Not in the semifinal, my darling, I've glued my hands to it.

-Are you sure that's a good idea?

-Absolutely. Ooh!

Working with Claudia is just a complete hoot.

I'm sure you can imagine, she is hysterical,

she has me in fits of laughter.

During our meetings on a Friday, I've regularly got to leave

the room and dab my eyes.

The mascara is running, because she has me in stitches.

MOUTHS: She's still down there.

-Can't stop laughing.

-I can't apologise enough.

I am in love with Tess. I propose to her on a weekly basis.

No, she's so brilliant and we're not the same, yet we totally click.

I can't wait to see Aljaz playing a doctor.

Me, too, I'm actually feeling a bit ill.

Aljaz could you please come and give me a full body check-up.

You know he's not really a doctor.

That's all right, I'm not really ill.

One of the great things about working on Strictly is that

it genuinely is like a family atmosphere.

People are happy to be there and it's a good vibe.

Everywhere you turn, there's goodwill.

I think, as far as Strictly is concerned, Len is the daddy.

The trouble is I'm a cup of tea in a world of skinny lattes.

A lot of people in the ballroom world can take things very

seriously and can, sort of, walk around with their nose

in the air. But never Len.

There's two things I really don't like - babies crying

and hip-hop - so you was on the back foot a bit before we started.

There are so many favourite Len moments.

Just working with him every week is such a treat.

That little sparkle in his eyes, 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, gliding past them, jiving.

And I love all his Lenisms.

What was the one he said to Anita Rani after her Argentine Tango?

-It was like a cow pat on Countryfile - hot and steamy.

-OK.

He has a barrage, darling,

of East End, sort of, Cockney boy slang phrases that he uses.

Shut up, close the door and call me Mary.

I've got one thing that Len said to me which has really stuck with me,

he called me a doughnut, which was quite amusing.

At the time, I was a little bit, "What? Did you call me a doughnut?"

Doughnut, 8.

But it's my thing, it's my thing with Len.

He's called me a doughnut and I'll take that.

It's a funny thing, he does say a lot and, quite often, within

the spot, pickle his walnuts he'll go, "Phoarr! I loved it."

If you're not back next week, I'll pickle me walnuts.

"Pickle my walnuts." He's threatened to do that many, many times,

I still haven't seen his pickled walnuts.

I don't even know what it is, but the thought of it sounds disgusting.

It also sounds rude.

If you don't go top tonight, I'm going to pickle on me walnuts.

Pickled walnuts, I had no idea what that means.

To be 100% honest with you, I still don't, but I love the way it sounds!

I'm not brave enough to ask him that.

"So, what is pickling your walnuts?"

Pickle me walnuts, you know.

It was just an expression, I don't know where it came from.

Rumbas have been a little bit like Marmite for you, Len,

this series - you've either loved them or hated them.

This is like a pickled walnut and I love them.

That's a pickled walnut. Hoooo.

That needs a warning, doesn't it?

They are delicious. Cut up with a bit of cheese.

When I was a kid, my dad loved them, so he used to give me a bit,

cos they're quite sharp and tangy.

Sharp and tasty, like a pickled walnut.

You know, the funny thing is, all through my dancing,

teaching career, when I taught.

When I first opened a dance school,

I just taught the general public, but gradually, I became what they

call a "coach" and I started teaching the world champions,

very high level, going all over the world,

and I always tried to explain things with pictures, if you like.

You were like a chess master.

You plotted your way around that floor,

every move carefully placed.

That... was a mango of a tango - delicious!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That's the way I am -

my grandad always was coming out with quips

and funny little comments that used to make us all chortle.

There you were,

like two sizzling sausages on a barbecue -

coming out hot, full of rhythm, full of attack.

Your bum was bionic, flying about... LAUGHTER

It's really good for the celebrity how positive he is.

Because he'll say what's wrong and can be improved, but then

he'll go something like "But you came out and gave it your all!"

And that builds them up.

I tightened my buttocks when you did them kicks...

LAUGHTER Oh...!

It was a mix of Hollywood and a touch of Borehamwood.

'The funny thing is,'

with a good dancer, you're looking for things that are negative.

You're looking for bad in a dance.

-You pick your feet up on the pivots...

-Oh.

On the double reverse spin, you had something going on there with

your heel turns, that was a little bit cranky, but as they said

you're the most elegant of dancers.

But it wasn't flawless.

BOOING

-CRAIG:

-Oh, dear...

With bad dancers, you're looking for good.

"Oh, he's terrible, isn't it?"

"Oh, I don't know - he did THAT all right..."

You know? So, it's a funny old business, really.

With the good ones, you're looking for bad

and with the bad ones, you're looking for good. Ha-ha!

Listen...

It's... LAUGHTER

-I'm the one... JEREMY VINE:

-I'm listening.

I'm the old boy who knows everything.

It's genius.

WHOOPING AND APPLAUSE

The judges have got a difficult job, because they've got to...

You know, they can't go, "Yeah, that was all right."

The next one comes on - "How was that?" "Well, it was all right..."

"How was that?" "Yeah - no, it was all right."

You can't have 12 of THEM.

Otherwise, everybody would... well, stop watching.

You were like a panther stalking all the time, full of menace...

The judges have got to be creative.

I think that shows longevity for Len. He's still there

and he's still able to put something out there

that people grab onto.

And it might be a "Lenism",

it might be a walnut-pickling experience

or it might be a doughnut.

You floated across that floor like butter on a hot crumpet.

WHOOPING

You don't mind if he uses one of his gems on you.

You can't waft enough. Once you've got all that gear on...

I think the fact that he's made "Seven"

a number to be reckoned with...

I think is extraordinary.

-Seven!

-Yay!

Seven!

Seven!

The amount of people that come up to me and go "Seven!",

it drives me mad.

Not once do I get an eight.

Seven!

It is amazing that people absolutely love

a cheer for the seven.

Because I'll hold up a seven and I'll get booed massively,

and Darcey will hold up an eight and get a humungous cheer -

Len will hold up a "Seven!", and get an even bigger cheer.

Seven! CHEERING

But it's amazing, you know -

if I walk through London or something,

every other cabbie opens his window and shouts, "Seven!"

"Yay! Hello..."

I'm walking down the street, people are shouting out "Seven!"

And I always say, "That's not my catchphrase, darling,

"that's very much Len's."

Who'd have thought "Seven!" would become a sort of a catchphrase?

Seven!

Seven!

Seven!

"That was a mango of a tango."

There's always a good atmosphere

when we're doing Strictly in the studio.

But when you come here, something happens.

Blackpool is important to Strictly, but more than that,

it is important to ballroom dancing.

It's a very, very special place

for the little world of ballroom dancing.

-Let's hug...

-I'm so cold!

-Oh, what a lovely moment.

-You are chilling! You're so cold.

How is everything?

Coming on. It's all good.

-What are you doing, you doing a group number?

-Two group numbers.

-It's Blackpool, you've got to do two group numbers.

-Course you have.

-One's never enough!

-No. Everything is...

Thing is, once you get to Blackpool,

everything's bigger than it is when you're in the studio -

the room's bigger, the crowd's bigger,

-production's bigger...

-Yeah.

It's what we call bigger.

It's just essentially bigger.

-AJ:

-Blackpool is Strictly on steroids -

the floor's bouncing, everybody's going crazy...

Trying to explain to your celebrity,

"It's going to be more adrenaline" - you can't even explain it.

When you get there it's like... "I know what you mean." It's crazy.

It's amazing. It's completely different from being in the studio.

Everybody just has to up their game

because by that time of the competition,

all of the celebrities,

whether with or without dance experience, have developed,

and Blackpool is where you, kind of, show what you can do.

Tell me this, let me ask you a question -

when was the first time YOU danced in Blackpool?

'69.

1969.

-How'd you do?

-No good. Came all the way up -

got all excited, dressed up, all ready to go, come on...

One round, first round, there was 240 people -

I was out. ANTON LAUGHS

-ZOE BALL:

-I think the history of the place,

the fact that it is, sort of, like,

the Mecca of dance...

But also, the floor is sprung

and the atmosphere in that room...

And you see something happen to the celebrities when they get in there -

"Wow, this is REALLY special."

Makes you dance better, I always felt.

You do. And what is weird -

the couples on Strictly

-tend to dance better.

-Dance better. Yeah.

-Now, why is that? You're a very educated man.

-Well, it's...

It's because - one, you're in the home of ballroom dancing

so you feel like... It must be like stepping out onto Wembley.

Yeah. That's right.

And you go, "Ooh, hello, I feel like I can play football."

You come into here and you suddenly go, "Hello, this is a bit proper."

When you arrive and you go into that room, you go, "Oh, my God -

"I understand everything."

So, it just sets a precedent.

100%, they dance better at Blackpool.

It is a special place

and everyone seems to up their game and dance better. Such a big floor!

Perfect example - Simon Webbe.

Doing that fantastic tango.

You could see that

he got it.

He got what dance is about.

You see, dancing is only movement, if there isn't music.

And if you get the music coming together with the dance,

and expressing your movement

through the music... Stopping...

Slowly...

MUSIC: El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge!

# Roxanne

WHOOPING

Turning...

And it all fits with the music.

# Roxanne

# You don't have to sell your body to the night... #

That's fantastic.

And it makes you tingle.

And that's what you got occasionally with dances

throughout Strictly. Simon Webbe's was a great example.

It was just...just perfect.

# His lips caress your skin

# It's more than I can stand

# Roxanne! #

CHEERING, WHISTLING AND APPLAUSE

-Ooh, I've still got it, don't you think?

-Yeah.

-Lost nothing.

We've got the five points... I think, actually,

-the way you're dancing, I think we might have six points!

-Six!

THEY BOTH LAUGH

CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK

Hello, mate...

'I don't know if people can understand it...'

You're welcome.

I have no feeling of being a celebrity. At all.

-Len, can I get a photo...?

-Thank you, Len.

'None.'

I'm just Len Goodman. I worked on the docks,

I had a dance school in Dartford and I got on a...a dancing show.

-There you are. How's that?

-That's brilliant. Thank you, Len.

You're in! Hey-hey!

You must never forget who you are,

and say, "Thank you, I'm so lucky.

"Thank you for letting me have all this."

Because Strictly changed my life.

Go on, Pash!

Look at him.

The Russians!

LEN LAUGHS

There you go!

D'you know what I like about Strictly, as well?

It's not about the judges.

Some of these other television programmes,

it's ALL about the judges.

See, we're just a cog in this wheel,

which is Strictly.

And it's a big machine,

and we're just four little cogs down here.

And that's why when people say, "Oh, it'll never be the same, Len,

when you're gone." Course it will. I'm just a cog. They'll take me out

and they'll put in another cog.

I'm going to miss the pointing finger...

He's always pointing fingers, saying "Don't listen to him!" You know?

Don't listen up there. What's he on about?!

I am going to miss our on-screen little battles.

Cos I do like those.

You looked under complete control throughout the dance.

It was a fantastic... CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Not hearing his "Seven!", it's going to be really weird.

But, you know...

the show will go on.

But at the same time, I'll miss you, Len.

Who could ask for anything more?

APPLAUSE AND WHISTLING

Standing ovation, from Len...

For him to say he is astounded how good you are...

"Bye! This has been fun, but I think we're done here!"

It doesn't GET any better than that.

I thought it was a lovely, lovely dance. Congratulations.

-CHEERING

-Thank you. Whoa!

I know I shouldn't be saying that,

but he is, and always will be, my favourite judge.

Absolutely fabulous. What a lovely performance. Beautiful.

I don't think anyone's ever going to forget Len.

And I'm hoping he'll come back now and again and, you know, visit.

Because he IS like the godfather of ballroom dance.

LAUGHTER

I know what'll happen.

I'll be sitting at home watching it,

and I'll be saying, "I should have gone on, I shouldn't have left.

"Should have stayed there."

But I know, actually, in my heart, that it's the right decision.

It's a 10 from Len!

CHEERING

The one bit of advice I would give to whoever takes over -

be honest and be yourself.

And just say what you see.

LAUGHTER

'You put a smile on my old boat race, I'm telling you.

'If you're in the bottom two, I'm gonna pickle me walnuts!'

Hold me upside down and smack my bottom!

He will forever be unforgettable.

I can't even think about it without him.

He is truly a legend and he will be greatly missed.

Len, you're not allowed to leave. Could you just pass that on?

INAUDIBLE

MUSIC: Edge Hill by Groove Armada