Got To Dance star Leon Heywood dies aged 45
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Got To Dance star Leon Heywood has died aged 45. The performer, who was a director of the Trinity Warrior Dance Academy from Derby, appeared on the second season of the Sky One competition in 2011. The group made it all the way to the finals, impressing judges Davina McCall, Kimberly Wyatt and Diversity’s Ashley Banjo.
![[Leon Heywood (Picture: Trinity Warriors Dance Academy)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235433413-efcd.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
In a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday, the academy shared the news of Heywood’s death, paying tribute to him as a ‘mentor, friend and role model’. It read: ‘Dear all students, past and present, It is with great regret we would like to inform you of the passing of Leon Heywood, one of the academy’s founding fathers.
![[Leon Heywood appeared with Trinity Warriors Dance Academy on Got To Dance in 2011 (Picture: Sky)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235434055-40c8.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=640)
‘Leon was such an incredible person and he was an inspiration to every single one of us, from students to parents, to supporters and the dance community as a whole, he inspired so many of us and was everyone’s biggest support. ‘To many of you he wasn’t just a dance teacher, he was a mentor, a friend, a role model, some of you thought of him as a father figure or a big brother and he loved every single one of you.
![[(Picture: Leon Heywood/Instagram)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235433204-f197.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘Leon helped pave the way for so many of us and shaped us into not only the dancers we are today but also contributed into shaping us all into the people we are today. ‘His students have gone on to do incredible things and even if your path didn’t continue in dance he was proud of us all and what we have all accomplished.
![[Leon Heywood appeared with Trinity Warriors Dance Academy on Got To Dance in 2011 (Picture: Sky)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235434054-cd30.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=640)
