Strictly Star Announces First Child at 42, Ten Years After Victory
In an Instagram post, they shared a picture of a ‘Baby on board’ badge, with AJ writing in the caption: ‘Can’t wait to meet…ErlingbellinghamDebrunyeLennonMcCartneyTaylorHansonHelenMcroryClaudiaWinklemanAlanCarrBuddyHollyPollyShermanPrincessFiona Clifton-Jenks. Cya in December!’
If a name ever had a huge legacy to bear, this is certainly it.
(Obviously this isn’t the baby’s actual name, but we’d love it if it was).
Fellow Strictly stars flooded the comment section with celebratory messages, with the recently-wed Neil Jones writing: ‘The best news. Congratulations.’
‘Aww wonderful news!! Congratulations 🫶,’ Karen Hauer wrote, while Janette Manrara described it as ‘amazing news’.
Joanne’s brother Kevin commented with a row of heart emojis, as did his partner Stacey Dooley, who he was partnered with on Strictly in 2018.
‘Beyond thrilled!!’ commented Sara Davies, while Fleur East added: ‘Wooo! Congratulations 🙌🔥🔥🔥.’
In 2017, Joanne opened up about her decision to leave Strictly after her victory lifting the Glitterball Trophy, saying that it was a ‘tough decision’.
‘I’ve absolutely loved every minute of it,’ she toldMetroat the time.
When asked whether there was any competitiveness between her and her brother Kevin, she answered: ‘I’m the more competitive one of the two anyway.
‘I haven’t always been like that, when I was younger and we entered ballroom competitions, Kevin was the competitive one, he always wanted to win and would throw a tantrum if we didn’t, and I’d be the one telling him not to worry.
‘But as I got older I got to be more competitive- he is my brother and he used to try out his wrestling moves on me so I needed to get him back for that!’
It was Ore and Joanne were heading on a limited theatre tour together to mark a decade since their win, titled 10: Champions Reignited.
‘It’s gonna be nostalgic. There’ll be lots that people remember from Joanne and my partnership on Strictly, but it’s also a look back at the last 10 years of our lives on stage and the amazing, iconic musicals we’ve been part of,’ Ore told West End Best Friend about the show.
Joanne added: ‘Expect to relive moments from 10 years ago on Strictly! Hopefully they’ll all come back when people watch our versions of those dances and it’ll bring back joy and those lovely memories that we kind of transmitted through the screen to them, but this time, live on stage!’
