AJ Odudu

Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu (born 12 February 1988)[1] is a British television presenter from Blackburn, England. 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 and the 2021 Channel 4 reality show spin off Married at First Sight: Afters. From 8 October 2023, Odudu began to co-host the ITV2 revival of Big Brother alongside Will Best.

AJ Odudu
Born
Onatejiro Odudu

(1988-02-12) 12 February 1988
Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK
NationalityBritish
Alma materKeele University
OccupationTelevision presenter
Years active2009–present
Employer(s)ITV
Channel 4
TelevisionBig Brother's Bit on the Side (2013)
Married at First Sight: Afters (2021–2022)
Big Brother (2023–present)

Early life and education

Odudu was born in Blackburn, Lancashire. Her mother, Florence, and father, James, are Nigerian and she is one of eight children (five boys and three girls). Her parents had an arranged marriage, for which her mother immigrated to England from Nigeria in the 1970s. Her father worked as a bus conductor, and her mother worked as a seamstress, cleaner, and dinner lady at a private school.[2]

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.[3]

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[3] and on The 5:19 Show, an online show on the BBC website,[4] having previously served as the latter's 'raving reporter'.[5] In 2010, she was a guest on 100 Greatest Toys, a one-off special broadcast on Channel 4. She starred as herself in Comedy Lab in 2011 and co-presented Sky Arts' coverage of the Isle of Wight Festival 2012.[3]

In June 2013, Odudu began presenting Big Brother's Bit on the Side with Rylan Clark 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.[6] In August 2013, Odudu launched her own blog on Hello magazine's UK website.[7] From 2015 to 2019, Odudu hosted the 4Music programme Trending Live!, with Jimmy Hill and Vick Hope.[8][9]

She regularly presented the online Facebook quiz game "Confetti" in March and April 2019.

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 edition of The Big Breakfast, presenting alongside the already-announced Mo Gilligan, for Channel 4 in September 2021.[10]

In March 2022, she co-hosted The Great Comic Relief Prizeathon alongside Vernon Kay.

Odudu presented the UK jury points in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.[11][12] In June 2022 she was a presenter for the BBC's coverage of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.[13] On 10 January 2023, it was announced that Odudu would co-host the official handover and semi-final allocation draw for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 that will be broadcast live on BBC Two.[14]

In April 2023, it was announced that Odudu would be hosting the ITV revival of Big Brother, alongside Will Best.[15][16][17]

Strictly Come Dancing

From September 2021, she was a competitor on the nineteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Kai Widdrington.[18] They topped the leaderboard in their first week with a score of 34,[19] and again in week 7, when they scored 39 for their Charleston to "Don't Bring Lulu".[20][21] 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.[22][23]

Personal life

Odudu lives in southeast London. She is a qualified personal trainer and sports nutritionist, and runs in her spare time.[24][25]

Filmography
Year Title Role Ref.
2009 The Almost Perfect Guide to Life Co-presenter
The 5:19 Show Co-presenter
2010 Teensville: Teen Witches Presenter
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
2015–2016 The Hot Desk Presenter
2018 Manhunting with My Mum Presenter
2019 The Voice UK Backstage presenter
The Voice Kids Backstage presenter
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins Contestant
2020 The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice Series 4; Episode 1 - 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
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
2022 The Great Comic Relief Prizeathon Co-presenter; alongside Vernon Kay
Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Spokesperson for the UK's votes
The Bridge: Race to a Fortune Presenter [26]
Platinum Jubilee Pageant Presenter [27]
Rosie Jones' Trip Hazard Herself [28]
Red Bull Soapbox Race: London 2022 Co-presenter; alongside Will Best [29]
The Hit List Contestant [30]
RuPaul's Drag Race UK Special guest; Series 4
The Last Leg: Christmas Bash Special guest [31]
The Weakest Link Contestant [32]
2023 The Big Interiors Battle Presenter [33]
Time For A Check In Presenter [34]
Eurovision Song Contest 2023: Handover and Allocation Draw Co-host; alongside Rylan Clark [35]
The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off Herself [36]
The Greatest Auction Host [37]
Shopping with Keith Lemon Herself; one episode [38]
Big Brother Co-presenter; alongside Will Best [16]
TBC The Big Blow Out Host [39]

References
  1. "A.J. Odudu". www.listal.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  2. You Magazine (5 December 2021). "AJ Odudu interview: I know now that anything is possible". YOU Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  3. "Blackburn's Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu is our bit on the side". This Is Lancashire. Newsquest (North West). 15 July 2013.
  4. "The 5:19 Show". BBC Switch.
  5. "Blackburn student lands BBC presenting job". Lancashire Telegraph. Newsquest (North West). 5 January 2009.
  6. Hewett, Emily (27 November 2013). "Carol McGiffin lands Celebrity Big Brother job, AJ Odudu gets the chop". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  7. "Welcome to my blog!". 28 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  8. Nahirny, Sam (14 September 2017). "Hanging out with the 4Music cool kids, AJ Odudu and James Hill". TMRW. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  9. "My TV Show". YouTube. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  10. "The Big Breakfast is making a comeback- and a Blackburn celeb is presenting it". Lancashire Telegraph.
  11. BBC Eurovision [@bbceurovision] (29 April 2022). "Ciao Italia, this is SALFORD calling! @AJOdudu will be the first #Eurovision spokesperson to present the UK jury's douze points from the North West" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. Granger, Anthony (29 April 2022). "United Kingdom: AJ Odudu Spokesperson for Eurovision 2022". Eurovoix. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  13. "AJ Odudu wears 'matching green outfit' with the Queen at Platinum Jubilee party".
  14. "Eurovision Song Contest 2023: Handover and Allocation Draw live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer" (Press release). BBC. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  15. "Big Brother confirms new hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best for 2023 return". ITVX. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  16. Percival, Ash (25 April 2023). "Big Brother Presenters Confirmed As AJ Odudu And Will Best". HuffPost. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  17. Hibbs, James (25 April 2023). "Big Brother officially confirms AJ Odudu and Will Best to host reboot". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  18. "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing - Kai Widdrington". BBC.
  19. Horton, Tom (26 September 2021). "Strictly Come Dancing: AJ Odudu wows judges in first week of competition". independent. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  20. "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing, Series 19, Week 7". BBC.
  21. Sigodo, Melissa (6 November 2021). "Strictly Come Dancing fans fuming as star gets 39 despite perfect comments". MyLondon.
  22. "AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington are unable to compete in the final". BBC. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  23. "Strictly Come Dancing: AJ Odudu ruled out of final with ankle injury". BBC News. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  24. Magazine, You (5 December 2021). "AJ Odudu interview: I know now that anything is possible". YOU Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  25. Sellers, Kate (13 November 2021). ""I've always got my running trainers with me!" | Interview with AJ Odudu". Women's Running. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  26. "The Bridge: Race to a Fortune". channel4.com. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  27. McGee, Sarah (6 June 2022). "AJ Odudu wears 'matching green outfit' with the Queen at Platinum Jubilee party". Lancashire Telegraph.
  28. "Rosie Jones' Trip Hazard". channel4.com. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  29. "Red Bull Soapbox Race: London 2022". uktvplay.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  30. "The Hit List". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  31. "Series 26 - Christmas Special". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  32. "The Weakest Link". BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  33. "The Big Interiors Battle". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  34. "Benenden Health teams up with Channel 4 to encourage Brits to check-in on their health | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  35. "Eurovision 2023 Handover and Allocation Draw - What to expect and how to watch on BBC Two and iPlayer". BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  36. "The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off". The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  37. "The Greatest Auction". channel4.com/press. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  38. "Shopping with Keith Lemon". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  39. "The Big Blow Out". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
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