Claudia Winkleman tried to prevent Len Goodman from quitting Strictly Come Dancing

Many of us were upset to hear the news of Len Goodman’s departure from Strictly Come Dancing last year including Claudia Winkleman, who has revealed that she even tried to talk the former judge out of quitting the show.

The co-host of the BBC One series said she tried to persuade Len, who had been on the judging panel for more than a decade, to remain on the programme “all of the time”.

“I just went straight up to him,” she explained to Radio Times. “I almost head butted him when I’d heard [he was leaving] and I went ‘No, that’s not allowed. I like the fact you’ve got an idea, but it’s not happening’, and he went ‘Claude…’”

You can’t blame a girl for trying, can you?

Reflecting on their final farewell to one another, Claudia, who has co-presented the main show with Tess Daly since 2014, said: “Oh I hated saying goodbye to Len.

“I love him so much. We sort of couldn’t believe it – we kept on going, ‘He’ll change his mind, he’ll change his mind.’”

Unfortunately though, Len’s mind was well and truly made up, as he confirmed last July that 2016 would mark his final appearance on the BBC ballroom show.

In a statement at the time, the 72-year-old dance coach said: “In 2004, I was asked to take part in a brand new BBC Saturday night show and who would have thought me, old Len Goodman, would still be part of this amazing series more than 10 years on.

“This adventure began when I was 60 and now that I’ve reached my 70s, I’ve decided after this year it’s time to hand the role of Head Judge to someone else.

“It is an honour being part of the wonderful Strictly Come Dancing family and I’m looking forward to my last series very much and to whatever comes next.”

Despite giving the BBC probably the longest notice period in history, Len’s replacement as Head Judge is yet to be announced. So watch this space!