Better Late Than Never: From Barrow Boy to Ballroom

by Len Goodman

Better Late Than Never is the extraordinary true story of how a man born into poverty in London's East End went on to find stardom late in life when he was chosen to be head judge on BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing. Len Goodman tells all about his new-found fame, his experiences on Strictly Come Dancing, and also on the no.1 US show Dancing with the Stars and his encounters with the likes of Heather Mills-McCartney and John Sergeant. But the real story is in his East End roots. And Len's early life couldn't be more East End. The son of a Bethnal Green costermonger he spent his formative years running the fruit and veg barrow and being bathed at night in the same water Nan used to cook the beetroot. There are echoes of Billy Elliot too. Though Len was a welder in the London Docks, he dreamt of being a professional footballer, and came close to making the grade had he not broken his foot on Hackney Marshes. The doctor recommended ballroom dancing as a light aid to his recovery. And Len, it turned out, was a natural. At first his family and work mates mocked, but soon he had made the final of a national competition and the welders descended en masse to the Albert Hall to cheer him on. With his dance partner, and then wife Cheryl, Len won the British Championships in his late twenties and ballroom dancing became his life. Funny and heart-warming, Len Goodman's autobiography has all the honest East End charm of Tommy Steele, Mike Read or Roberta Taylor.

Genres: Nonfiction

357 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 25, 2009

About the author

Len Goodman was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times a great laugh. He had loads of embarrassing stories and I love his wisdom. He didn't describe Cherry or Sue.
This was the first male biography I have read.

[Pam Keevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A life story of incredible variety and richness from the streets of London to the heights of stardom in the USA and the UK. It's filled with the turns of phrase we came to love in his critique of dancers. It also shows his rise to fame and fortune was checked many times as ballroom dancing's popularity rose, fell and rose again. What was most illuminating was the insight into the world of professional ballroom dancers and the hard work it entails.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Len Goodman has led an interesting life, I especially enjoyed reading about his early years because life in the UK during the 40's-60's really piques my interest . From where Goodman began to where he landed is an amazing and riveting story

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to read how Len got into dancing and his story before Strictly! Really enjoyable read.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. I love anything to do with dance so was interested to see how Len has worked his way to where he is now.
Humorous and detailed.