UK

Strictly Come Dancing champion Ore Oduba looks ahead to family time

Strictly Come Dancing winners Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton with presenters Caludia Winkleman, left, and Tess Daly. Picture by Guy Levy, BBC, Press Association&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;
Strictly Come Dancing winners Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton with presenters Caludia Winkleman, left, and Tess Daly. Picture by Guy Levy, BBC, Press Association 
 
Strictly Come Dancing winners Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton with presenters Caludia Winkleman, left, and Tess Daly. Picture by Guy Levy, BBC, Press Association 
 

STRICTLY Come Dancing winner Ore Oduba said he is looking forward to spending time with his family after “neglecting” them to train for the show.

The sports television presenter, who had no previous dance training, beat former Hollyoaks star Danny Mac and former Eternal singer Louise Redknapp to win the coveted Glitterball trophy in the nail-biting finale of the BBC show.

Oduba (30) and his professional partner Joanne Clifton, were also awarded their first perfect score for the series for their show dance performed to I Got Rhythm, which saw departing head judge Len Goodman giving them a standing ovation.

Talking moments after his win, Oduba said: “It doesn’t make any sense to us right now, I cannot believe it, we did not even consider this [winning], not even for a single week of this.”

Asked what he will be doing next, he replied: “What’s next? Christmas, I cannot wait for Christmas, I’ve neglected my family, same for Jo, we’ve been so hard working...”.

He revealed he will be going on a two-week getaway with his wife Portia, while Clifton will be back in the dance studio today to start rehearsals for a musical.

The BBC presenter praised his wife for being his “anchor” and said having his parents, who were visiting from Nigeria, in the audience made his victory even more special.

The grand final saw the BBC series reach new heights in the ratings with a peak of 13.1 million viewers tuning in. An average of 11.8 million watched the


programme.