Ore Oduba famously waltzed off with Strictly Come Dancing's coveted Glitterball trophy but these days there's something else keeping Ore Oduba on his toes: his eight-month-old son Roman. The TV presenter, who spun dance partner Joanne Clifton to Strictly victory in 2016, says his own life has been turned upside down by his bundle of joy's arrival.
"Roman is a beautiful, wonderful kid; he's everything we ever dreamt of and more," Ore, 32, tells HELLO! as we join him and his wife Portia, 28, for this exclusive interview and photoshoot. "He doesn't have a single tooth and he has the most gummy grin. When he smiles, I don't have a care in the world."
© Photo: HELLO!"Roman is full of life. He's started to stand up and he's a chatterbox like his dad," laughs Ore. "He has got so much expression on his face. He looks people up and down and sizes them up, and if he likes you he will give you a smile and if he doesn't he will give you so much shade, as the cool kids would say.
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"We forget what life used to be like but it's so much better as the three of us. The hardest thing has been figuring out the new dynamic because Portia and I have always been a team. Emotions are heightened, tolerance and patience are a bit lower and it has easily been the most testing time for our relationship. We've been given a big challenge but we wouldn't have it any other way. It’s a new chapter."
Portia adds: "Ore is the best dad and is really hands on. He loves to get involved as much as he can. He doesn't even mind a middle-of-the-night nappy change or cleaning up after meals, which are very messy at the moment. Work aside, he loves to be with Roman as much as he can."
Work-wise, Ore has an exciting time ahead. He'll present the Strictly Live UK Arena Tour in the new year, when he will hit the road with the latest crop of contestants as they perform around the country.
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And next week he'll be on our TV screens presenting the annual National Lottery Awards, which recognise charity projects supported by National Lottery funding. The lottery raises £30m every week for good causes and, since 1994, players have raised a total of £38bn for more than 535,000 arts, education, environment, health, heritage, sport and voluntary projects across the UK.
"It's one of my favourite nights of the year because it's about celebrating ordinary people who do extraordinary things," says Ore, who will be joined by Katherine Jenkins, Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas and DJ Roman Kemp for the glittering event. "For us to be able to put those extraordinary people on a pedestal is extremely special. They've seen a chance to make a change and the National Lottery is there to help them along. It's life- changing for those communities."
Pick up this week's magazine to read the full interview.
National Lottery Awards 2018 is on BBC1 on Wednesday 26 September at 10.45pm. Visit lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.
