Len Goodman tells Rachael Bletchly of The Mirror, “I was a mod in the 1960s but avoided the fights”

After spending half an hour having a lovely chin-wag with chief judge Len Goodman, I can’t help thinking the Strictly contestants have all missed a trick. 

Their chances of getting a 10 from Len might increase dramatically if they danced to a number from the soundtrack of cult movie Quadrophenia. 

Because, it turns out, our Len has a bit of a soft spot for Vespas, fish-tailed parkas and mohair suits. 

And as a teenager you’d have found him down on Brighton sea-front trying hard not to get his head kicked in by a big hairy biker. 

“Oh yes, I was a mod back then,” reveals 70-year-old Len, coming over all misty-eyed and nostalgic. 

“As a teenager in the sixties you were either a mod or a rocker and I loved the smartness of the mods – the dapper clothes, the Motown music. 

“And my mum would never have let me have a big quiff and a leather jacket anyway – so a Mod I became. 

“I had a Vespa scooter and we’d go down to Brighton every weekend. 

“We’d all go in a pub called the Skylark and 50 yards along was the one all the rockers went in, called the Man o’ War. If you were foolish enough to go in the rival pub, well, there was hell to pay. 

“But I was crafty enough not to get involved in any of the punch ups... well, with a nose like this you don’t want it broken. I grew out of it after a couple of years but I still love Quadrophenia – terrific film.” 

After Motown got young Len up on the dance floor he realised he had a talent for fancy footwork. It led to a dazzling career as a competitive dancer, teacher and examiner and then to his place beneath the glitter ball as a Strictly Come Dancing judge. 

He says: “I got into dancing properly at 21. A mate of mine started going ballroom dancing and I took the mickey out of him – until he said there were loads of girls there and not many boys. The girls hated dancing with other girls, so it didn’t matter what you looked like. We were the kings of the ballroom! 

“Let’s face it, dance halls were places to pull. Most blokes would be standing at the bar plucking up courage to ask a girl if she wanted a drink. But I loved the dancing. I was pretty good at jiving, so I’d get them nice and hot and then asked if they fancied a shandy!” 

“I started dancing with a girl whose dad owned the school and he spotted something and gave me lessons. That was the start of it all. Just a bit of luck... like getting Strictly. And because of Strictly I’ve been lucky enough to get lots of other lovely projects and pres­ent­ing jobs. I’m a very lucky fella!”