ORE ODUBA
The 33-year-old British television presenter was the winner of Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, and this month he goes on tour hosting the arena shows
Ore Oduba lives in London with his wife, Portia, and their one-year-old son, Roman. My career journey… When I was young, I didn’t immediately want to be a presenter; I wanted to be a footballer without any actual ability to play football. But hey, a 16-year-old boy can dream! So then I thought of other careers I could go into that related to sports. I’ve always loved television, so I went to university and carried on that idea. I was pretty happy that plan accelerated.
My early memories… I had a pretty regular upbringing. We’re a family of six – two boys, two girls – and we went to an amazing school, which
I’m really grateful for. I wasn’t the most academic child, so their extra curricular activities allowed me to do a lot of things I really wanted to. I loved being on stage, I loved being on a sports field, and I loved just playing about trying to make people laugh.
My significant others… Portia and I met when I went back to my university to give a talk. I remember telling my friends about her and saying, “Guys, I don’t want to jinx it, but really think this could be…” and they held their heads up and said, “Oh no! Not again.” I used to fall quite easy, but this was the first time the My favourite Strictly moment… Getting to the semi-finals was beyond my wildest dreams. So to have my parents – who made so many sacrifices when I was young – and my wife in the audience, while I was on stage dancing with Joanne [Clifton], who became my best friend, I thought life couldn’t get any better. Of course, we found out it actually can.
My return to the Strictly tour… I’m absolutely buzzing about it! This is the job I feel most at home doing. Having the opportunity to host and dance is what I love to do. Last year, Roman had just been born when I went on the tour, and if I could have stayed at home I would. But if I wasn’t going to be with my actual family, then to be with my Strictly family was the next best thing!
The Strictly Come Dancing Live UK Arena Tour runs from 18 January until 10 February; strictlycomedancinglive.com