PUTTING FAMILY FIRST
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ORE ODUBA
Like many parents, Ore Oduba stopped setting an alarm years ago. The actor, presenter, Strictly Come Dancing champion and father of one, who has a second baby on the way with his wife Portia, can always count on his three-year-old son Roman to run into his bedroom at the crack of dawn. As part of our Back to School digital issue, Ore shares his hectic daily routine, which sees him clocking an average of just five hours of sleep a night.
My alarm goes off at…
“I’ve stopped setting an alarm. Roman is as good as any cockerel – bang on 6.30am he is up and in our bedroom every morning. I have a coffee at 6.31am and, although I’m trying to stick to healthier herbal teas, vanilla latte is my kryptonite. As we are on school holidays, breakfast is looser – anywhere between 7.30am and 9am.”
The typical school run goes something like this…
“I wake up, get Roman dressed, brush my teeth, do a 30- minute home workout, feed Roman his breakfast, have a quick, cold shower ( if there’s time), brush Roman’s teeth, check the clock… Panic, saddle Roman up on the trike, be out of the door at 8.10am, followed by a 20- minute speed- walk up the hill to school. Drop him off, then do a 15-minute walk/warmdown at home… Then start thinking about gin!”
My typical workday consists of…
“I haven’t had a typical workday for over five years, which I’m very grateful for, but it does make you wake up in the morning wondering who you are today and rack your brain as to what you do for a living. Currently, it’s playing Brad Majors in the UK tour of the Rocky Horror Show.”
I pick up my son at…
“12.30pm or 3.15pm. Roman has a mixture of half days and full days at nursery. Although when the baby’s born we hope to up his schedule to five full days a week.”
My son’s after-school routine is…
“Based on how t i r e d we can g e t him before bed. Whether that’s a visit to the playground, feeding the ducks or swimming lessons once a week. Often we’re the tired ones, so we’ll have a chilled afternoon where Roman’s playing with toys, in the garden or watching his iPad while Mum and Dad are recovering on the sofa.”
A typical family dinner sees us doing…
“Frustratingly, we don’t have the chance to do family dinners too often, for a number of reasons. Roman eats at around 5.30pm but, if we can, we’ll eat dinner together on a Sunday. Ro loves to ‘ help’ where he can – you might translate that to ‘getting in the way’, but actually it’s lovely that he’s in the kitchen enjoying himself and getting familiar with cooking. It means I’ll be able to get him doing the washing up sooner!”
In the evenings, we all like to…
“Recover. Maybe watch an episode or two of whatever we’re into at the time. But mainly recover. Portia and I are always cramming our catch-up into about half an hour over dinner. All the life admin, gossip and plans for the week that we haven’t been able to speak about during the day.”
I’m in bed by…
“1am. Even if we go up to bed at 10.30pm there’s always something else to do. My brain does most of its thinking once everyone is asleep. So I find myself drafting emails, thinking up ideas, managing house jobs or planning the next day well into the night.”
The hardest part of being a working parent is…
“It doesn’t stop. Rarely is there a moment to yourself, and even when you’re sitting down at mealtimes you feel like you’ve got to wolf food down before the next job needs attention.”
The most rewarding par t o f bein g a parent is…
“Watching our little boy grow up every d a y. L e a r n i n g something new, coming out with something random – a new word or phrase we’ve never heard him use before. And watching him develop into a happy, kind-hearted soul. It helps you know you’re doing something right.”