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As he appears with brother Ashley and their dance troupe Diversity on tonight’s Dancing On Ice, Jordan Banjo will have conquered one of his greatest fears… Not of falling over on the ice, he reveals, but of having a vasectomy last week.
He admits: “I’m afraid of surgery. I’m the most accident prone member of Diversity.
“I’ve had four knee surgeries, lots of broken bones and I’m a bit of a baby. I’ve been dreading the operation for weeks. I’m not the bravest soul in the world.”
And he sheepishly reveals his wife Naomi battled near-fatal sepsis twice in 2019 after the birth of their daughter – and despite weeks in hospital she took it all in her stride.
He says: “Naomi is next level strong. She bounced back and cracked on like nothing had happened. She’s made of a lot tougher stuff than me. I’m in awe of her every day.”
The couple have two children, Cassius, four, and Mimi, three. Jordan decided to have the operation after Naomi got pregnant unexpectedly again.
“We have a baby boy due at the end of April. Although I do think that being a dad is the only thing in life I’ve ever excelled at, three is definitely enough. So I thought – go for it, and I got it booked.”
Nodding to Diversity’s creator Ashley, who is a father-of two, he says, “I think we’ve completed the Banjo grandchildren between me and Ash for now, and then it will be our little sister Talisa’s turn when she’s ready.”
The Banjo brothers could not be more different when we meet at rehearsals for tonight’s 6.30pm performance of Dancing On Ice. While very close, they are a good foil for each other.
Older brother Ashley, 34, who swaps his judging duties to perform on tonight’s ITV show, is considered and thoughtful, while Jordan, 30, is exuberantly friendly, talkative and – as he admits – an “over sharer”.
But Jordan holds back on revealing details of Diversity’s performance, teasing: “There are a couple of things that are rather cool and viewers won’t expect to see. Ash has created another amazing routine. It’s a performance from Diversity on Dancing On Ice – so you can let your imagination run wild!”
He openly hero worships his older brother, admitting: “I’ve always looked up to him and based a lot of my goals on following in his footsteps.”
Not only do the brothers work together in Diversity, but they also collaborate to write children’s books.
The first, Fly High Crew: The Green Glow, was published by Scholastic in 2021. The second, The Day We Saved The Future, has just come out.
Jordan explains: “We took our inspirations from sci-fi. Our winning dance on Britain’s Got Talent was based on Trans-formers. Growing up we were superhero nerds.
“We brought all the wonderful things and family values we enjoyed growing up with and put them into this book.” Ashley announced in December he had split up from his wife Francesca, whom he married in 2015. In a heartfelt Instagram post, he said: “Nearly 18 months ago we took the difficult decision to separate.
“After being together for over 16 years, since we were teenagers, this is not a decision that has been taken lightly..sometimes people just move in different directions.”
The couple have two children, Rose, three, and Micah, two. Ashley went on: “Sometimes it can be difficult. You can have a private life, but when you’re in the public eye, part of the deal is inevitably that part of you is public. I am massively grateful for that part because it gives me everything I’ve got.
“So I just thought, get it out of the way. It was just something that needed to be done.”
He is philosophical about fame: “I’m very lucky with the ups and I do my best to navigate the downs. Online trolls are part and parcel of the job.”
Jordan agrees social media is a double-edged sword: “During the pandemic, I had comments from people saying that they hoped my kids would get ill with coronavirus. I’ve deleted Twitter and developed a thicker skin.”
Ashley stresses: “The group keeps us grounded. We’re in a set of people we’ve known for 20-plus years. Everybody in the world of Diversity has been here before, during, and after, the success of it.
“There are about 15 of us now in total. We are like a family and everyone cares about each other so much. You are talking to me and my brother, my mum Danielle manages us, our sister works in the office.”
Jordan laughs: “A lot of people expect us to say we’re training our children up to join Diversity in the future.
“Off their own bat, they love dancing so that’s why I think they will get into it. My daughter Mimi is a very natural dancer and I reckon she could go a long way. But Cas, bless him, has a lot of work to do!”
The group will be back on the road when their 90-date Supernova UK tour kicks off in October. Ashley said: “It’s our biggest tour yet. I’m super-excited but being parents now, and with the dynamic of the group changing, it does feel a bit scary.
“It used to be pure excitement – but there is this trade-off now.
“The babies are at home and we’re on the road. If there is time to go home, we do.”
The Day We Saved The Future by Ashley Banjo and Jordan Banjo is out now, published by Scholastic.
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