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donderdag 4 oktober 2012

'Strictly Come Dancing' Len Goodman: 'Lineup is stonking'

Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman has praised this year's "stonking" line-up of celebrities.

Victoria Pendleton, Denise Van Outen and Colin Salmon are among the stars taking part in this year's series, which kicks off its first live show on Friday (October 5).

Goodman stated that he doesn't believe some celebrities may have an unfair advantage over others due to their past experience.

"What is strange about Strictly is it is a pretty level playing field for everyone," he told The Sun. "People are saying that as Denise has been in Chicago and Kimberley [Walsh] went to stage school, they have an advantage. Equally, with the Olympians and their ethos of training, they have an advantage and so it goes on.

"But at the end of the day, you can make a case for everyone having a bit of advantage - but none of them have done ballroom or Latin before.

"I will treat everyone equally. You judge people on how good they are compared to others. If somebody gets a nine and the next person comes out better, you will give him or her a ten.

"It was like when we had Heather Mills on the show and everybody asked if we would take into account the fact she only had one leg. You have to judge it on what you see."

Goodman continued by saying that if he were taking part in the show, he would most likely turn into a comedy character rather than a serious contender.

"If I was on Strictly and I was hopeless, I would make everyone laugh," he explained. "Let's be honest here. If you go back to the year when John Sergeant was on the show, which person actually won?

""The bizarre thing is you remember the bad ones. I hope there are one or two who will camp it up and embrace it for the fun elements.

"As for who I think may be that person, well Richard [Arnold] is confident and funny. He can camp it up nicely. Johnny Ball might come out too, bless his heart."

Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.

On this year's lineup, Goodman added: "Is it the most beautiful lineup we have seen? What I do think is, it is great that we have some gorgeous girls, hunky guys and a few older ones too.

"We have got a great mix. It's going to be absolutely stonking."

Talking about landing the judging role on the show, Goodman said: "Getting a job on Strictly was like winning the lottery for me. And to be honest, when we first did it, I thought it wouldn't last a series. I thought nobody would be interested in ballroom and celebrities I had never heard of.

"I didn't think it would work. It just shows what I know. The BBC ran with it, and it's been absolutely life-changing for me. I am the dance teacher who got lucky."

Strictly Come Dancing starts tomorrow (Friday, October 5) at 9pm on BBC One.