'Strictly' judge set for movie debut
'Strictly Come Dancing' judge Len Goodman is to make his movie debut alongside 'Born Free' actress Virginia McKenna, it emerged today.
Goodman has a small part in a new independent British film, 'Love/Loss', which tells the story of two childhood sweethearts, played by McKenna and Keith Michell, who meet by chance 60 years after their romance.
The 'Strictly' star sticks to what he knows best in the movie, playing the teacher at the dance club in the village where the story takes place.
The dance show was accused of ageism last month after the 66-year-old Arlene Phillips was ousted from the judging panel and replaced by former winner Alesha Dixon, but there is little danger of Love/Loss coming in for similar criticism.
At 65, Goodman would be among the older cast members on most films, but he can regard himself as a spring chicken alongside 78-year-old McKenna and 80-year-old Michell.
The cast also includes 62-year-old Diana Quick, 85-year-old Geoffrey Bayldon, 69-year-old Geoffrey Whitehead and 67-year-old Patricia Brake.
McKenna won the Bafta for best actress for her performance in the 1956 film 'A Town Like Alice', but is best known for 'Born Free', the movie based on a true story about a couple who raised an orphaned lion cub and released it into the wild in Africa.
The Bafta-winner said she was excited to be working with Goodman on the movie, made by a team of first-time film-makers.
“I used to be glued to Strictly,” she said, “I’ll stumble around. I used to dance a lot, so I can pick up a gentle waltz.”
McKenna said she was delighted to be part of a film that dealt with the loves and lives of older people.
“It’s a sweet story and poignant and funny about old people, which I think is lovely because there are lots of us now,” she said.
“It’s nice to have a film that a lot of older people can relate to.
“There are lots of older actresses that are fantastic that work a lot, so there are parts but probably not as much for younger people.”
McKenna left acting in the 1980s to set up the Born Free Foundation and campaign for animal welfare, and 'Love/Loss' is her first movie appearance since 1998, when she had a small part in the Gwyneth Paltrow rom-com 'Sliding Doors'.
But she said ageism was not a factor in her career switch.
“I really only changed (careers) because the animal work came into our life which is mainly why I gave up acting as my interests changed,” she said.
The 90-minute film was written and directed by Guy Daniels and shot over two weeks in and around Knebworth in Hertfordshire.
