STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Len Goodman said he would go on the X Factor - if Simon Cowell has a go on his show.

The dance coach, who owns The Len Goodman Dance Centre in Dartford, confirmed he would be back on the Strictly judging panel in September, but could not reveal the much-speculated line-up.

He said: “They never tell us who are going to be the celebrities until they tell everyone, which is a good thing because if I knew I’d be telling you.

“They always seem to come up with a terrific cast of celebrities; you get some good ones and some funny ones. I can’t wait.”

And he said the ultimate booking would be his TV-ratings rival, the Britain’s Got Talent and X Factor supremo.

He said: “The dream person on it would be Simon Cowell.

“If he came on it, I’d go on X Factor.

“I’d probably sing Oh What a Beautiful Morning or something like that. I’d probably be as good at singing as Simon would be at dancing.”

Len joined the Silver Song Club at Northfleet Day Centre on Thursday (July 18) in his role as a National Lottery Ambassador.

He had a sing-a-long and chat to some of the members of the club, which tackles social isolation with song and is competing for £2,000 funding as part of the National Lottery Awards.

Len said: “This is what I find fabulous, all over Britain at grass roots level the National Lottery does things for so many different people. 

“One of the things about getting old is loneliness, maybe your husband or wife has passed away, and you’re stuck inside all on your own. 

“This is terrific, getting all these people to come out and have a cup of tea or cheese on toast.  It gives you something to do, you’ll find it when you get older, it is finding things to do.”

The 69-year-old said it was encouraging these schemes happen locally.

He said: “I only live three miles away and because it’s local I’m more keen on it. These are all local people from Dartford or Gravesend or wherever, all having a nice time, a bit of a sing-song and a chat in between.”

Len was born in London, but moved to Blackfen as a youngster.

He added: “We moved to Blackfen, on Blackfen Road, then we moved to Welling, then Bexley. So I have always been around this area. Now I live in Greenhithe.

“It’s lovely because if you go three miles south and you’re in the middle of the country and you go half an hour north and your right in the centre of London. You have got the best of both worlds. It’s wonderful, aren’t we lucky to live in the south?”

Len who is also a judge on the American version of Strictly – Dancing with the Stars – has owned his dance school in Dartford since the 1970s, but said he doesn’t manage to be there as often as he would like these days.

He said: “Chuck Berry was once asked what he thought about Elvis Presley and he said ‘he got what he wanted and he lost what he had’.

“That’s a bit the same as me. I got what I wanted, I earn much more money, but I lost what I had.

“I used to enjoy teaching beginners to dance. My wife and son now run the dance school and they’re much more patient than me, so it is probably just as well I came out of it.”

Silver Song Clubs operate singing programmes across Kent to help improve the health and wellbeing of older people living with long-term health conditions. To help them win the funding, call 0844 8369703 or go to lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards by July 24.