James Jordan has insisted he’ll never return to Strictly Come Dancing, six years after quitting the show.
The British dancer, 42, admitted he’s too ‘old, fat and slow’ to return to the dancefloor with wife Ola, who also quit the show in 2015.
It comes after James admitted he wished he’d had children sooner, after he and Ola had a three-year struggle to conceive their first child.
Nope! James Jordan, 42, has insisted he’ll never return to Strictly Come Dancing, six years after quitting the show
When asked whether he’d ever return to Strictly, James told The Sun: ‘No, not now. I’m too old, too fat and too slow. Let the young ones do it. I like watching them.’
Strictly is still expected to return to screens this autumn, though slightly later than planned due to new measures surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
James added he’s not surprised bosses are doing everything they can to keep the series on the air, and believes many stars will be keen to sign up as many plans and projects have been put on hold due to the pandemic.
No chance! The British dancer, 42, admitted he’s too ‘old, fat and slow’ to return to the dancefloor with wife Ola, who also quit the show in 2015 (pictured on the show in 2013)
He added: ‘That’s as long as they make it safe, which I’m sure they’ll find a way to do.
‘It’s such a great show to be on. For anyone who is considering doing Strictly, I don’t think they would say no this year just because it will be different to usual.’
On Friday James said he wished he’d had children sooner after struggling to conceive for three years with his wife Ola.
The professional dancer became a father to daughter Ella in February this year following a successful first round of IVF with his Strictly co-star, 37.
James revealed that he never used to envy stay-at-home dads, however he now wishes he had started fatherhood earlier.
Candid: On Friday, James said he wished he’d had children sooner after struggling to conceive for three years with his wife Ola (pictured with their baby daughter Ella)
He admitted during an interview with the Sun: ‘We have a beautiful baby and we are over the moon, if we had missed the boat I would be devastated.’
Despite feeling incredibly fortunate to have received a positive outcome from their first IFV treatment, James revealed that with hindsight, he would have focused on having children at a younger age.
He said: ‘If I could turn back time, I probably would have had kids [earlier], yes.’
Priorities: The star revealed that he used to judge other fathers who would choose spending time with their children over a round of golf, but now he claims he’s a changed man
The TV star also opened up about how his cynicism towards stay-at-home dads has changed since welcoming his five-month old daughter with his Strictly co-star.
James admitted that his opinion of other men who sacrifice downtime to look after their children has been completely changed since they took home their baby.
He said: ‘Many of my friends who are dads would say to me, ‘I’m going home to the kids’, and I used to think, ‘What, to change s**tty nappies and hear all that screaming? You’d prefer that to playing 18 holes on a golf course?’ But I look at everything differently these days.’
Family times: The dancing couple welcomed their five-month old daughter Ella into the world by IVF in February this year after three years of failing to conceive a child naturally
Now, James is completely besotted with his little one and has reconsidered his priorities.
The dancing star and his wife, Ola, have been together for more than 20 years and married in 2003, but they chose to delay having a children to focus on their careers.
Both dancers became staples on the Strictly Come Dancing show before James decided to leave the show in 2013, and his other half followed two years later.
Miracle: James acknowledged that they were incredibly lucky to conceive in 2019 through their first IVF attempt, but they still found the whole process remarkably stressful
Long road: James (pictured with Ola on Loose Women earlier this year) disclosed he would be absolutely ‘devastated’ if they missed the boat to have children
It didn’t take long for other TV opportunities to appear on the horizon including James’ appearance on the Channel 5 show Celebrity Big Brother in 2016 and Ola’s stint on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity that same year.
After their busy schedules calmed down, the pair began ‘actively trying’ to have a child, but they were unable to conceive naturally and eventually turned to IVF.
Luckily, they were successful during their first attempt with Polish-born Ola becoming pregnant in 2019, but James acknowledged the period as an incredibly ‘stressful’ waiting game.
The Strictly sensation admitted that their careers and making money have always taken centre stage, but he know longer values material things as important.
First time parents: In hindsight, the TV star wishes he had chosen to have children earlier in life, ‘If I could turn back time, I probably would have had kids, yes’