Anton Du Beke paid tribute to Strictly Come Dancing’s late head judge Len Goodman during the show on Saturday.
Judge Anton was moved by the enchanting performance of former tennis champion Annabel Croft and her professional dance partner Johannes Radebe during Halloween week.
After the couple performed their Tango to INXS’ song Need U Tonight, Anton told them it reminded him of the show’s routines ‘back in the day’.
Anton said Len, who was known for his love of a traditional routine, ‘would have loved it’.
“Well, it was like I used to watch Strictly Come Dancing,” Anton said to Annabel and Johannes.
Missed: Anton Du Beke paid tribute to Strictly Come Dancing’s late head judge Len Goodman during Saturday’s show
Loss: Len was the show’s head judge from its first episode in 2004 until 2016. He died days before his 79th birthday in April 2023 after prostate cancer spread to his bones
“I tell you who would have loved it, dear old Len. He would have loved this because at the beginning you held the grip and started doing a tango in the grip, and you came out of the grip when the music stopped playing.”
He added: ‘Absolutely brilliant, all tango. I didn’t see one step wasting time. It was just a cheerful tango that was performed very, very beautifully.’
Len was the show’s head judge from its first episode in 2004 until 2016. He died days before his 79th birthday in April 2023 after prostate cancer spread to his bones.
Fans were left in tears after Anton’s words, with one posting on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘Nice shout from Anton, for dear old Len.’
“Dear old Len would have loved this ‘Anton, I’m NOT OK’,” another agreed.
‘Thanks Anton for bringing up Len, all the true fans miss Len. “I would love to dance with the stars, they would call it the Len Goodman Trophy,” another posted.
On this week’s Strictly, Angela Scanlon and professional dancer Carlos Gu kicked off the Halloween special with a Black Swan pasodoble to Swan Lake.
Waterloo Road’s Adam Thomas and his partner Luba Mushtuk performed Perry Como’s American Smooth to Magic Moments, while Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe took on INXS’s Tango to Need U Tonight.
Wow: Judge Anton was moved by the mesmerizing performance of former tennis champion Annabel Croft and her professional dance partner Johannes Radebe during Halloween week
Praise: Anton said Len, who was known for his love of a traditional routine, ‘would have loved it’
Beautiful moment: Fans were left in tears after Anton’s words, with one message on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘Nice shout out from Anton, for dear old Len’
Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington danced a Charleston to the theme song Murder She Wrote and Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell did the Cha Cha to Come-On-A-My-House by Della Reese.
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola took on a Salsa to Murder On The Dancefloor by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Lauren Oakley performed a Viennese Waltz to Kiss From A Rose by Seal, while Layton Williams and his partner Nikita Kuzmin performed a Tango performed to Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo.
Nigel Harman and Katya Jones had some negative comments about their Cha Cha, which saw them dancing to I Was Made For Lovin’ You by KISS.
Last week’s dance-off survivors, Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima, took on the Charleston to Jeepers Creepers of Al Donahue and his Orchestra.