Derek Hough Says Len Goodman's Death Was a 'Huge Shock,' Recalls 'Inappropriate' and 'Funny' Gift He Received

Derek Hough was overcome with emotion while remembering the late Len Goodman. 

In a new interview on Jana Kramer's Whine Down podcast, Hough at one point sounded like he was breaking down in tears. As he paused to collect himself, muttering "Yeesh, yeah, sorry," the hosts chimed in: "You cry, we cry. That's how it goes around here." 

Hough shared that while he knew the former Dancing With the Stars judge was "unwell," he "had no idea the extent" of Goodman's illness. "This was a huge shock to all of us," Hough said.

Goodman died on April 22 at age 78. According to the BBC, Goodman was on hospice at his home in Kent, England, and was surrounded by his family at the time of his death on Saturday. He had bone cancer.

"I feel incredibly emotional and sad about it," Hough said, adding that he really "savored the moments I spent with him" during Goodman's final season on the show in 2022.

"We were playful with each other and we had these one-on-one conversations," he recalled. "Even before the last day, I walked in my dressing room and there's this giant picture of Len framed, beautiful gold frame, and it's a picture of him and it had this handwritten message from him." 

Hough continued, "It was so beautiful but also, like, inappropriate humor, like funny. It was a hilarious thing he wrote, as well, and it was signed by him." 

The 37-year-old dancer gushed that he was "so touched and moved by that, thinking how our lives were so intertwined." 

The pair had known each other since Hough was 12 years old, he said, when he moved to London to study dance.

Hough said that he "definitely" plans to honor Goodman with a moment on his upcoming fall tour, and became emotional over one memorable performance on DWTS. 

"He did this little package and he was saying, ... 'Sometimes your body just starts to give up on you, but I still feel like that young old chap, that dancer.' And we did this tribute to Len, really, and he kinda took over and he danced," Hough remembered. "I keep thinking back on some of these memories and these moments, thinking, again, just how fortunate we were to have him for so long on that show, at least. But he certainly went far too soon in life." 

Tickets for Derek Hough: Symphony of Dance -- featuring his fiancee, Hayley Erbert -- are on sale now. The tour kicks off on Sept. 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

"There'll definitely be some moments of honoring him and tipping the hat to him, without a doubt on tour," Hough said of Goodman. "Not only just for us, but I think honestly for the audience. I think a lot of the audience that will come to the show will also... they're also in a way mourning this guy they've watched for 20 years on TV. He's Len Goodman! He's the head judge. He's the guy we all love. I'll certainly want to honor him and also, in a way, celebrate him with the audience for a moment in the show. Without a doubt."

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