Len Goodman Is Leaving Dancing With the Stars!

It's the end of an era for the ABC reality competition series

By Chris Harnick Dec 08, 2014 4:58 PMTags
CARRIE ANN INABA, LEN GOODMAN, BRUNO TONIOLI, DWTSABC/ADAM TAYLOR

Dancing With the Stars is losing an original member of its team. Judge Len Goodman will plans to leave the ABC reality competition series after this upcoming spring season, E! News has confirmed.

"Next year, I'm not going to do the flying backwards and forwards—I'm not going to do the American show...I've got to have a bit of time off," Goodman told press for the U.K. series Strictly Come Dancing.

Goodman has sat alongside Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli as a judge on the dancing series since it began in 2005. He's also been a judge on the U.K. version, Strictly Come Dancing, since it began in 2004.

"Dancing with the Stars—next year is their 10th year, it's the 20th series of the show. So I think that's a nice place to stop," Goodman said.

Goodman's exit isn't the only shakeup Dancing With the Stars has gone through. Former DWTS professional dancer Julianne Hough joined the judging panel in 2014 after leaving as a dancer in 2009. Maksim Chmerkovskiy departed the show as a dancer after winning season 18 with Meryl Davis. Tom Bergeron has had a number of co-hosts throughout the show's run, including Lisa Canning, Brooke Burke-Charvet, Samantha Harris and now Erin Andrews.

Cheryl Burke, who was paired with Antonio Sabato Jr. for season 19 and been with the show since season two, will likely not return to the dance floor. But what about as a judge? "This is my family. I've been a part of the show for the last decade. I started when I was 20. I'm 30 now. If they would ask me to be a judge, I'd love to," Burke said.

A source told E! News producers brought in Hough knowing Goodman may be on his way out.

ABC and BBC, producer of DWTS, declined to comment.

Goodman said he is sticking with Strictly Come Dancing.