Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman has died aged 78 after a short battle with bone cancer, his agent announced today.
The Strictly legend was a head judge on the BBC show from its launch in 2004 until he quit the show in 2016.
The star, who would have turned 79 tomorrow, previously suffered from a number of health issues before he passed away surrounded by his family on Saturday in a hospice in Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
This is not the first major health battle that the professional ballroom dancer fought outside of the public eye in recent years. Here, we take a closer look into the history of Len Goodman's health scares.
Prostate cancer
The star secretly dealt with prostate cancer behind closed doors while he was filming past series of both Strictly and Dancing with the Stars.
Len kept his diagnosis from the BBC and decided to continue with filming after doctors told him he wasn't 'riddled with it'.
He opened up to the Mail on Sunday in 2009 that 'everything's gorgeously good' post surgery. Len spent weeks recovering in hospital after the tumour was removed and urged other middle aged men to look after themselves.
He said: "As long as you get checked up every year, then medicine is such now that if you do get something, then hopefully they can catch it early and you have a good chance. I think that’s the most important thing – men of a certain age should have their check-up every year."
Skin cancer
In 2020, he suffered from another form of cancer again after a mole on his forehead turned out to be a deadly form of melanoma.
He was spotted at the time with a bandage on the side of his head and previously told Good Morning Britain that a friend had noticed the mole during a round of golf.
He explained: "I went and they took it out and it's gone. It was a tiny little thing on my forehead… probably because I play a lot of golf and I don't wear a hat, which I do now."
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that develops when skin cells called melanocytes are exposed to UV light such as sunlight. The professional dancer and judge liked to keep fit playing golf and going to the gym twice a week.
In his younger years he trained to become a footballer, but his sporting career was short lived after he suffered a foot injury which led him down the route of dancing. At just 19, he took up ballroom dancing and won a series of competitions across the UK before he retired in his late twenties.
Arthritis and being 'barely able to walk'
However, after dancing for so many years, Len began to suffer from arthritis in his mid 60's. He had a partial knee replacement in 2015 and appeared on Strictly with a pair of crutches after refusing to take a week off the show.
At the time, he said: "I was in pain for years and by the time I was 67, I was in agony and barely able to walk. The worst thing was I love golf, but to do 18 holes I’d have to get a buggy around the course, which left me out of a lot of the fun with my mates."
In 2016, he also underwent decompression surgery on his shoulder which involved his bone being shaved because it was jagged so painful that it had previously left him in tears.
Len Goodman's death
The star's passing was confirmed in a statement today by his agent Jackie Gill who said: "It is with great sadness to announce that Len Goodman has passed away peacefully, aged 78. A much loved husband, father and grandfather who will be sorely missed by family, friends and all who knew him."
Len was known for his 'Seven!' score and witty one liners in his thick cockney accent on Strictly, making him a firm favourite on the dancing show which he made his final appearance on during the 2016 Christmas Day special.
He also served as head judge on Dancing with the Stars and the US version of the show for more than 15 years until he announced his retirement in November last year to spend more time with his grandchildren and family.
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