But once upon a time, Len was not a judge, but being judged himself! Before taking the scoring paddles in hand, the dance icon, 78, had a dedicated career as a dancer. Check out this nostalgic throwback photo from the Seventies of Len in his competition days with his partner Cherry Kingston, who would become his wife in 1972. (The couple divorced in 1987.) The now-78-year-old was only 25 at the time, and is sporting a thick crop of hair that makes him almost unrecognizable from the Len that we see today. He got into dance at 19, after a short time as an apprentice welder. But his origin story comes from an unlikely place: A doctor’s office. “When I was 20, I broke my foot playing five-a-side,” he told the Mirror. “The doctor recommended ballroom dancing as a way of recuperating. Ballroom dancing was great for me; it was the first thing I found that I was good at.” Len would take that doctor’s advice and become a professional dancer and win heaps of competitions, including the British Championships in his late 20s. After that victory, he retired from the dance floor, though he continues to contribute to the dance world in other ways, including running a ballroom school in Kent and serving as a judge on multiple shows. Next, Len Goodman’s Funniest Quotes from Dancing With the Stars
