My First Million: Len Goodman

Len Goodman, 65, started dancing at the age of 21. He turned professional and retired after winning the British Championships at Blackpool in his late 20s. He was born in east London and now lives in north Kent and has run the Goodman Dance Centre in Dartford for 36 years. As well as his role in BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, which has just returned for its seventh series, he is a judge on the US version of the show, Dancing with the Stars, on ABC TV.

Did you think you would get to where you are?

No. My plan was to ease off at the dance studio when I was 60 and play more golf. Then I had a call from the BBC, asking me to take part in a pilot for Strictly Come Dancing – on my 60th birthday! I felt I was the right man for the job, able to explain dance steps in a non-technical way with humour. It was fabulous money: £1,000 for a day’s work. But I thought that it would not last one series.

When you realised that you had made your first million were you tempted to slow down?

In the five years that I have been appearing on Strictly and Dancing with the Stars, I probably have earned around £1m – the bulk from the US series. I have not wanted to slow down because you never know how much money you will need to live out your life. When I do pass away, I want to leave sufficient money for my partner, and my son, James, who is 28. Why stop doing something that I love?

What is the secret of your success?

It has been a bit of luck. If I had not hurt my foot playing football and gone to a doctor who suggested I take up ballroom dancing, I would not be where I am now. A year after starting ballroom classes, I left my job as a welder to help run the dance studio.

Do you want to carry on till you drop?

I don’t want to stop yet. Running a dance studio is not the most lucrative thing but you are doing something that you enjoy. My father said: “Work is doing anything that you don’t really want to do.”

Have you had time for personal financial planning?

I don’t trust financial advisers. Instead of putting capital into something like a five-year bond, I have used it to pay off my mortgage, and improve my home and the dance school.

What was your most prudent investment?

Probably buying a three-bedroom house in Bexley when I was 28 and getting the biggest mortgage I could. While my friends were buying houses for £3,500, I spent £13,000, a fair amount in 1972. I sold it six years later for £64,000.

Have you made any pension provision?

In my early 20s, I started paying £20 a month into a pension, increasing it over the years to £200 a month, while a friend went into buy-to-let properties. Today, I get £243 a month from three pensions while my friend has more than 100 properties and is a tax exile on the Isle of Man!

Do you allow yourself the odd indulgence?

When I had no money, I was always wanting things. Now that I have got far more money than I ever dreamt I would have, I don’t want possessions. I’m very happy with my situation. I live in a small three-bedroom house. I have had my car, a Jaguar, since 2003.

I reward myself at the end of each 10-week stint working in the US. One time, I bought myself a £6,000 watch. Another time, I helped my son with the deposit on his house. After the last trip, I bought two charcoal sketches of ballroom dancers, at £2,500 each, from a gallery in Albemarle Street.

Have you taken steps to pass on your wealth?

I keep updating my will as my circumstances change. I’m involved with charities but that’s for now, not when I have gone. When I go, I will leave all my money to my family.

What is your commitment to charity?

I do what I can for Demelza House, a hospice for children in Sittingbourne, near where I live. I went on Celebrity Weakest Link several years ago and we won £8,000 for them.

What is the most you have ever paid for a bottle of fine wine or champagne?

I once bought a bottle of Cristal champagne in a velvet-lined box for £150 and I gave it to my friend for his 60th birthday. Eight months later, another friend of ours turned 60. I noticed that he had the bottle of Cristal that I had given to my first friend. When I was 60, the second friend gave me the same bottle! I’ve still got it because it is too expensive to open. I’ve also run out of friends coming up to 60!

What is your money saving tip in the recession?

Always look for deals at the supermarket. I should do, but I don’t. I still tend to buy my food at Waitrose or Marks and Spencer. If I weren’t working so much, I would probably be shopping at Lidl and Asda.

What is your basic business philosophy?

Keep your prices in line with inflation. For many years, our prices in the dance studio stayed the same. About 20 years ago, I realised how little I was earning. I decided that our prices should go up every year, even if it was just by 10p or 20p. Our business has doubled since Strictly.