Strictly star makes racy show confession saying 'I'd have been worse than Giovanni'

Strictly winner lands acting role in major British soap
Former Strictly Come Dancing pro James Jordan has opened up in a new chat -Credit:PA


James Jordan has playfully claimed he would have been even more of a ladies' man than Giovanni Pernice if he had been single during his time on Strictly Come Dancing.

James, who danced on the BBC show from 2006 to 2013, is married to fellow dancer Ola, but has since joked that his love life could have taken a very different turn if he hadn't been off the market during his Strictly days. Discussing the infamous 'Strictly curse', James cheekily suggested he might have given heartthrob Giovanni a run for his money.

In a candid interview with The Sun, James downplayed the notion of a Strictly curse, likening the close connections formed on the show to any other workplace romance.

Ola and James Jordan
James Jordan has quipped that he'd have been "worse than Giovanni" had he been single during his stint on Strictly -Credit:Ian West/PA Wire

However, he acknowledged the intense environment could spark relationships, as seen with Giovanni's pairings with Georgia May Foote and Ashley Roberts, both of whom he was rumoured to have been romantically involved with.

Speaking to The Sun, James quipped: "You're very close, aren't you? Day one, you come in and you're literally rubbing up on each other, groin to groin. You just met them and you're rubbing your crown jewels up against them.

He continued: "It's normal in our world but not for everyone else and you're so close to each other, dancing sexy, and there's nice music and you're training with each other for eight hours a day, so if there is a little bit of chemistry, something's going to happen" reports the Daily Star.

Giovanni Pernice
Giovanni has been romantically linked to a number of his partners on the BBC show -Credit:SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Teasingly, the star joked: "If they're single, I say crack on, I'm all for it. If I wasn't with Ola, I'd have been worse than Giovanni! "

Ola and James tied the knot back in 2003, and became parents in 2020 when they welcomed a daughter named Ella. The pair had been open about struggling to conceive and had Ella after undergoing IVF.

Last year the couple shared that while they would love to give Ella a sibling it is "not easy" due to their circumstances. "We would love to but it's not that easy for us," James told OK! "We would love her to have a brother or sister. She talks about it all the time too!"

Ola previously shared that she would undergo IVF treatment again if she had to. During an appearance on GB News, she said: "I would love to have more children if it happens naturally, if it doesn't I will go for another IVF, yes."

Ola and James Jordan
James and Ola have been married since 2003 -Credit:Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images

The mum-of-one went on to detail her struggle to conceive naturally, saying: "It's really hard because you don't know who to turn to. Most of my friends used to get pregnant so easily.

"I didn't understand why I wasn't getting pregnant. I was healthy, fit, I was a professional dancer. It's very hard and it's very hard to turn to someone because everyone was getting pregnant around me."

But she found people she could speak to once she announced she was undergoing IVF, saying she had a lot of women "coming up to me and going 'I did IVF'", but admitted it's "still a subject that people don't want to talk about".