Is the strain of his heavy workload and weekly transatlantic commute starting to take its toll on 'Dancing With the Stars' head judge Len Goodman? He and Bruno Tonioli have a punishing schedule, pulling double duty judging 'DWTS' during the week, and then flying back to the UK to judge the BBC's 'Strictly Come Dancing' at the weekend.

Now Len's had blow-ups with pro dancers on both shows in the space of just a few days. Is he crankier than usual? Last night he and Maksim Chmerkovskiy had a major falling out after Maks interrupted Len's harsh critique of his rumba. That bust up followed a furious on-air altercation with 'Strictly' dancer James Jordan on Saturday night, during which Len told him, "All you have to do is turn up, keep up and shut up."

Is an irascible Len overdue for a vacation? Well, luckily for him he'd already booked one before it got nasty on the dancefloor(s). It's been announced that Len is taking a week off from 'Strictly' next month, and subbing-in for him as guest judge on Nov. 5 and 6 will be none other than 'DWTS' Season 11 champ, Jennifer Grey.

While there are several other channels in Britain, the BBC has a virtual monopoly on television on the basis on its brand name alone. That can be seen with the amount of investment in its fall schedule. In England, the BBC is synonymous with television. While other U.K. channels are suffering from the recession, the BBC One, their primary channel, seems to be plowing ahead.

Upcoming projects include a new adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma (and nobody does period pieces like that better than the BBC), Strictly Come Dancing (their version of Dancing With The Stars), and the latest installment in the Doctor Who franchise, The Waters of Mars. A film called Small Island is also in the works.

I make no secret of my love of British television. I can only hope that some of this quality fare makes it to the states shortly after it's U.K. debut so I can enjoy it (and perhaps somehow convince my cable company to carry BBC America).