Dancing With The Stars Honors Len Goodman In ‘Moving’ Tribute And Trophy

Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) will return this month. And when it does, ABC’s dancing competition will honor one of its fan favorites, Len Goodman, who died earlier this year.

Find out how Dancing With The Stars will pay tribute to the popular judge amid the upcoming season. And keep reading to learn more about his passing.

Dancing With The Stars – Honors Len Goodman

The celebrity cast on Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) changes each season. But what never changed was the love that everyone felt for DWTS judge Len Goodman. And fans joined the Dancing With The Stars cast in mourning when Goodman died at age 78 on April 22 after a private battle with bone cancer.

However, Dancing With The Stars exec producer Conrad Green shared via ET that Goodman will receive a special honor on DWTS starting this year. And he revealed that the show changed the name of the highly coveted Mirror Ball Trophy to one that pays tribute to the late DWTS judge. 

“The Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy will now be lifted on Dancing With the Stars like the Vince Lombardi trophy is lifted at the Super Bowl,” Green revealed. “We wanted to make Len a permanent part of this show, to always remind people the importance he’s had to Dancing With the Stars and how much he meant to all of us.”

DWTS – Plans ‘Really Moving Moment’

The Dancing With The Stars premiere will feature dedicating the trophy to Goodman, according to Goodman. And he promised a “really moving moment. Len loves this show and will always be there, looking down on us,” the DWTS producer added.

Both former and past Dancing With The Stars cast members have shared about how Goodman influenced the dance competition show. For instance, former Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron noted that in honoring Len, he didn’t mean any “disrespect” to the current judges. But Tom shared, “No disrespect to [DWTS judges] Bruno [Tonioli], Carrie Ann [Inaba], Derek [Hough], or Julianne [Hough] back to when she was a judge. But I think they too would agree that it was Len’s critique and opinion that everybody valued most.”

And Goodman enjoyed a long career on Dancing With The Stars as a judge. He starred on the dance competition show from 2005 until 2022. However, Len also became a founding judge on the British dance competition, Strictly Come Dancing, from 2004 to 2016. And Goodman waited until November 2022 to reveal his plans to retire.

Prior to becoming a judge, Goodman enjoyed a career as a professional dancer. And he won the British Championships in his 20s. However, Len then hung up his dance shoes to become a professional judge for Dancing With The Stars and Strictly Come Dancing. 

Tell us what you think. Do you feel that Dancing With The Stars made the right decision to honor Len Goodman by renaming the Mirror Ball Trophy? And after you share your views, check back on our site for more Dancing With The Stars news.