Strictly Come Dancing’s head judge Len Goodman has denied claims that this year’s series is fixed during an appearance on This Morning with Phillip & Holly.
Former pro dancer Ola Jordan, who revealed she had quit the show on Twitter, made allegations that the show was fixed and viewers were left angry when Anita Rani and her partner Gleb Savchenko were eliminated by the judges after landing in the bottom two with Katie Derham and Anton du Beke.
Talking about his shock at Anita’s exit Len said, “To be honest, so was I [shocked] because my perception [of Anita] was that sheād been terrific… but when you judge the dance off, it is just about that dance. Itās nothing to do with whoās been great so far, or who you think would be great in the final, it is just about that one dance. And as far as I was concerned – and Darcey and Bruno – we thought Katie didnāt go wrong, it was beautifully danced, so there you have it… It is horrible and I feel as though itās me doing it, and of course I donāt want to do that but the thing Iāve tried to do always is be honest. And thereās been all nonsense of producers talking and thatās nonsense.ā
He added, āIt usually all revolves around the dance off. I remember last year I got terrible stick for voting off Pixie Lott… but Iāve said it loads, itās just about that one dance. And if you happen to not dance it quite so well, and the other one does – itās a bit like a penalty shoot out!ā
When asked if there was any producer impact on choosing, Len shook his head replied, āNo. The trouble is, I donāt know how sincere I come over. But [the producers] have absolutely neverā¦ Listen, Iāve judged the World Championships down, do you think if a producer come up to me āOi Len, we really want so and so to get-ā [shaking his head] …well you can imagine what Iād tell them! And it wouldnāt happen…itās just absolute daft.ā
During the interview Len also cleared up rumours about his retirement and rumours that Anton du Beke could take his place on the judging panel. Len admitted, āWhat I said was this, Iām 71 now, come to next year Iāll be 72 obviously, and what I said was āa good replacement – Anton, Karen Hardy -ā and for me, what I was trying to say is, itād be good if it was somebody whose roots were ballroom and latin. I think itās important that there is a āballroomy personā there.ā
To see the interview on head over to www.itv.com/thismorning/showbiz/len-goodmans-ballroom-bonanza