AJ Odudu
AJ Odudu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Onatejiro Odudu 12 February 1988 Blackburn, Lancashire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Keele University |
| Occupation | Television presenter |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Employer | Channel 5 |
| Television | Big Brother's Bit on the Side (2013) |
| Website | http://www.ajodudu.com/ |
Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu (born 12 February 1988)[1] is a British television presenter. She is best known for co-presenting the 2013 Channel 5 reality show spin-off Big Brother's Bit on the Side, alongside Emma Willis and Rylan Clark-Neal and the 2021 Channel 4 reality show spin off Married at First Sight: Afters.
Early life and education
Odudu was born in Blackburn, Lancashire. Her parents are Nigerian and she is one of eight children. Odudu attended St Bede's RC High School and St Mary's College in Blackburn. She later graduated with a degree in English and Politics from Keele University.[2]
Career
Odudu began her career as a reporter for BBC Blast based at Radio Lancashire. Her first presenting roles began in 2009 on the BBC Two series The Almost Perfect Guide to Life[2] and on The 5:19 Show, an online show on the BBC website,[3] having previously served as the latter's 'raving reporter'.[4] In 2010, she was a guest on 100 Greatest Toys, a one-off special broadcast on Channel 4.[citation needed] She starred as herself in Comedy Lab in 2011[citation needed] and co-presented Sky Arts' coverage of the Isle of Wight Festival 2012.[2]
In June 2013, Odudu began presenting Big Brother's Bit on the Side with Rylan Clark-Neal and Emma Willis, and then Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Psych from August 2013. Her departure from the show was confirmed in November 2013, being replaced by Celebrity Big Brother 12 contestant and former Loose Women panellist, Carol McGiffin.[5] In August 2013, Odudu launched her own blog on Hello magazine's UK website.[6] From 2015 to 2019, Odudu hosted the 4Music programme, Trending Live!, with Jimmy Hill and Vick Hope.[7][8]
She regularly presented the online Facebook quiz game "Confetti" in March and April 2019.[citation needed]
In July 2021, she won the second series of Celebrity Karaoke Club on ITV2. Also in that month, Odudu was confirmed as co-host of a one-off revival episode of The Big Breakfast, presenting alongside the already-announced Mo Gilligan, for Channel 4 in September 2021.[9]
Strictly Come Dancing
From September 2021, she was a competitor on nineteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Kai Widdrington.[10] In their first week the couple topped the leaderboard with a score of 34 for their jive to Gold Dust by DJ Fresh. Judge Motsi Mabuse hailed the routine "the best dance of the evening, without a doubt."[11] They topped the leaderboard again in week 7, with a score of 39 for their Charleston to "Don't Bring Lulu".[12][13] The couple also jointly topped the leaderboard in the semi-final, but were forced to withdraw from the competition on 17 December, the day before the final, after Odudu tore a ligament in her right ankle.[14][15]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Almost Perfect Guide to Life | Co-presenter |
| The 5:19 Show | Co-presenter | |
| 2010 | Teensville: Teen Witches | Presenter |
| 100 Greatest Toys | Guest | |
| 2011 | Dirty Digest | Panellist |
| Comedy Lab | Herself | |
| 2012 | Isle of Wight Festival 2012 | Co-presenter |
| 2013 | Big Brother's Bit on the Side | Co-presenter |
| Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side | Co-presenter | |
| 2014 | Fake Reaction | Panelist |
| 2015–16 | The Hot Desk | Presenter |
| 2018 | Manhunting with My Mum | Presenter |
| 2019– | The Voice UK | Backstage presenter |
| The Voice Kids | Backstage presenter | |
| 2019 | Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins | Contestant |
| 2020 | The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice | Series 4; Episode 1 - Herself |
| The Chase: Celebrity Special | Series 11; Episode 3 - Herself | |
| Richard Osman's House of Games | Series 4; Episodes 16-20 - Herself | |
| Don't Rock the Boat | Co-presenter | |
| 2021 | Would I Lie To You? | Herself |
| Celebrity Karaoke Club | Winner | |
| Unforgivable | Guest | |
| The Wheel | Expert | |
| Cooking With The Stars | Contestant | |
| Rolling In It | Contestant | |
| Apocalypse Wow | Presenter | |
| The Big Breakfast | Co-presenter | |
| Strictly Come Dancing | Series 19; Finalist | |
| Married at First Sight UK: Afters | Presenter | |
| Emma and AJ Get to Work | Co-presenter; alongside Emma Willis |
References
- ^ "A.J. Odudu". www.listal.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ a b c "Blackburn's Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu is our bit on the side". This Is Lancashire. Newsquest (North West). 15 July 2013.
- ^ "The 5:19 Show". BBC Switch.
- ^ "Blackburn student lands BBC presenting job". Lancashire Telegraph. Newsquest (North West). 5 January 2009.
- ^ Hewett, Emily (27 November 2013). "Carol McGiffin lands Celebrity Big Brother job, AJ Odudu gets the chop". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to my blog!". 28 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ Nahirny, Sam (14 September 2017). "Hanging out with the 4Music cool kids, AJ Odudu and James Hill". TMRW. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "My TV Show". YouTube. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2019.[dead link]
- ^ "The Big Breakfast is making a comeback- and a Blackburn celeb is presenting it". Lancashire Telegraph.
- ^ "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing - Kai Widdrington". BBC.
- ^ Horton, Tom (26 September 2021). "Strictly Come Dancing: AJ Odudu wows judges in first week of competition". independent. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing, Series 19, Week 7". BBC.
- ^ Sigodo, Melissa (6 November 2021). "Strictly Come Dancing fans fuming as star gets 39 despite perfect comments". MyLondon.
- ^ "AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington are unable to compete in the final". BBC. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing: AJ Odudu ruled out of final with ankle injury". BBC News. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.