Dancing with the Stars has paid a touching tribute to the late Len Goodman during Tuesday night’s launch show.
The show’s former judge passed away peacefully in a hospice in Kent in April, just days before his 79th birthday.
The new season of the popular dance show kicked off on ABC on Tuesday, and Len was remembered by his former colleagues in an emotional tribute.
Co-hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro paid tribute to Goodman during their opening monologue.
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air actor said: “We’re obviously missing a big part of our ‘Dancing With the Stars’ family tonight,” after introducing the judging panel – consisting of Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.
Julianne called Len “irreplaceable,” adding that they wanted to find a way to “keep his spirit alive”.
The co-hosts then announced that the coveted mirrorball trophy had been renamed the ‘Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy’ in his honour.
The new trophy was then showcased, displaying a silver plate on the base of the trophy with an inscription of the new moniker.
It comes just one week after the Strictly Come Dancing team paid tribute to their former head judge Len.
