Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas appeared on Wednesday afternoon's instalment of Loose Women as she paid a heartfelt tribute to Len Goodman, following the news of his tragic death on Monday at the age of 78.
Shirley, 62, looked flawless as she appeared on the ITV lunchtime show with curled locks, to pay her respects to her co-star and longtime friend who she has known since the age of nine.
The judge even paid a nod to the BBC show, as she sported a black jumper embroidered with red hearts signifying all the Strictly and Dancing With the Stars dancers, matching it to her red lipstick.
But she had a very sentimental reason for her glam appearance on the show, as she spoke of the nickname the late showbiz star once gave her.
"He [Len] never called me Shirley. He called me 'curly Shirley' or 'twirley Shirley' and that's why I have worn my hair like this today," she said.
"Thank you so much for coming in to talk about Len, it must be such a hard day for you and such a shock," expressed Coleen.
Shirley said: "I have a lot of good friends in the industry who all loved Len. He was a really big part of our lives."
"He was an icon in humour, he could make the rain go away he was such a beautiful human being," she fondly recalled labelling him as a "wonderful man."
Len Goodman, who she hailed as "life and soul of the party", has had tributes pouring in since the start of the week, after losing his battle following a short illness with bone cancer.
The star, who would have turned 79 the day after his death, 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.
Shirley added: "When I got my last and final cuddle with him he seemed quite frail as I hadn't seen him in a while but he was still full of humour, and he liked a cuddle and that smile was just piercing."
"I felt he didn't look his best as did a lot of people in the industry, we kind of knew but we are close quarters we don't put it out there, we do protect our own" she admitted as she spoke of his declining health in recent months.
Shirley added: "He taught me about the human spirit and not taking yourself too seriously and how to always walk into a room with a smile because there's always someone else worse off - I will take that with me forever."
The Strictly legend was a head judge on the BBC show from its launch in 2004 until he quit the show in 2016. He was known famously for his iconic catchphrase "SEVEEEEN!"
Strictly Come Dancing usually airs on BBC One on both Saturday and Sunday evenings. Season 20 returned with a launch show on Friday September 23, with the latest season air date yet to be announced.
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12:30pm on ITV.
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