Len Goodman

Len Goodman

'Strictly Come Dancing' star Len Goodman constantly fears he will be sacked from the show.

The judge has been a staple of the BBC ballroom dancing contest since it began in 2004 but sees it as inevitable he will be replaced and feels it could happen at any time.

He told The Sun newspaper: "The BBC will get rid of me before I want to get rid of the BBC.

"I'm happy doing this. But there will come a time when the bosses think, 'We've had enough of old Len -- he's getting dithery and doddery' and all that.

"I think I've got a few more series in me yet, but there are loads of people who could replace me.

"The producer, Izzie Pick, once told me that if a plane crashed and all the judges were killed -- with [hosts] Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly -- the show would still go on. They would find new people to replace us.

"But I don't worry about that call saying that I am being dropped - it is what it is."

Stars rumoured to be competing on this year's show include model Abbey Clancy, singer Sophie Ellis Bextor and rugby star Ben Cohen, but Len - who is returning to the show's panel alongside Bruno Tonioli, Darcey Bussell and Craig Revel Horwood - always reserves judgement on who will do well until he's seen them dance.

He added: "I always look forward to seeing who is on the show, and what they are like on the first night.

"You tend to get ideas about who will be good but it is often different. We all thought Lisa Riley wouldn't be good last year, but she was brilliant.

"I saw Victoria Pendleton and thought she's an Olympian, she's fit, so she'll be fantastic. But then she wasn't so good. You can never tell until they show up."

'Strictly Come Dancing' returns to BBC One on September 7.