Len Goodman was a treasured TV legend who warmed the nation's hearts each Saturday night as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.
The 78-year-old star - who died following a battle with bone cancer - captured an adoring allegiance of fans when he signed up for the hit BBC show in 2004.
Famed for his witty one-liners and 'SevEN!' scoring catchphrase, the professional Ballroom dancer eventually quit the show after a 12-year stint, before appearing in the state-side spin-off - Dancing With The Stars.
Len auditioned for the Strictly role on his 60th birthday - when most people would be thinking about retirement plans, having established a successful dance school.
He ran the school where he lived in Kent with his second wife Sue Barrett, 57, who he had wed in a surprise ceremony in front of 30 of their nearest and dearest.
It was his third time lucky with finding love with Sue, who is 21 years his junior, and they remained together for more than two decades.
Len was previously married to his champion dance partner Cherry Kingston. The dancers married at the age of 28 and divorced a couple of years later.
Len went on to have a long-term relationship with a woman named Lesley, and they shared a son together, James Goodman, who is now 42.
In early 2000, he met his now-wife Sue, a dance teacher, and married her 10 years later in 2012 in a secret ceremony.
The couple had gathered their friends and family in a swanky London restaurant for a 'Sunday lunch'.
Opening the doors to the dining room, instead of tables set for a meal, the 30 guests discovered a registrar waiting to marry the the pair.
But one thing was absent on the day - the newlywed's first dance.
In 2013, Len told the Mirror: "I haven’t danced since 1973, I'm too old.
"I go to a wedding and I never dance. I just shuffle along. I know people watching think, 'He’s not that bloody good'.
"But if I try and do some moves I know they’ll say, ‘Look at him showing off’. So it’s best if I don’t get up.
"If I do dance with Sue, it’s for 10 seconds. But as soon as I sit down somebody comes over and says, ‘Len would you make my wife’s day and dance with her?’
"I end up dancing with every woman in the place. So I don’t do it anymore."
Six years later he revealed to The Sun how he keeps the spark in their marriage alive - with an early morning 'cha cha' in the buff.
He said: "I don't dance at all now but I'll dance the cha-cha naked just to give her a treat.
"It certainly wakes her up."
For years, the dad-of-one split his time between living in the UK and in the winter months, would reside in LA for filming Dancing With The Stars - and his family would come out to join him during the run.
In 2017, the former Strictly judge confessed to the Mirror there was a "twang of regret" over departing but admitted travelling between the UK and US became too much.
"I did it for 12 years, and I wasn't getting too dithery but there comes a time when I just couldn't keep going back and forwards," he told Lorraine Kelly on her ITV show.
Away from TV, Len's years of dancing took a toll on his body and he was plagued for years by arthritis.
The star was also secretly treated for prostate cancer in 2009 while filming Strictly, but kept the diagnosis a secret from all but his close family and friends.
On Monday, April 24, it was announced that Len had died following a battle with bone cancer.
He had been staying in a hospice in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, when he died on Saturday evening.
A statement from his agent 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."
