James Jordan (born 13 April 1978)^[1] is an English ballroom dancer and choreographer. His dance partner is his wifeOla Jordan, with whom he turned professional in 2000. Jordan appeared as a professional onStrictly Come Dancing from 2006 to 2013. In August 2014, he participated in thefourteenth series ofCelebrity Big Brother. He finished in third place. He returned as an All-Star for thenineteenth series, where he was evicted in thirteenth place.

In 2018 he appeared along with his wife, Ola, on Comedy Central'sYour Face or Mine?. On 10 March 2019, Jordan won theeleventh series ofDancing on Ice, where he was partnered with professional Finnish figure skaterAlexandra Schauman.

James is currently, December 2024, at the pinnacle of his career playing Dandini in Cinderella at The Winding Wheel Theatre in Chesterfield.

Jordan was born inGillingham, Kent,^[2] and attendedSt John Fisher Catholic School in Chatham.^[2] He started dancing at the age of 13. He now dances with his wife,Ola. Ola previously danced with Przemek Lowicki inPoland; James previously danced with Agnieszka Melnicka, but they split in 1999. He also danced with Kate Pothecary (1996) and Elisabeth Haraldsdottir (October 1997 – December 1997).^[3]

James and Ola's first recorded dance as a partnership was in the Dutch Open in 2000,^[4] though they did not turn professional until 2003.^[5] The couple retired for a while, in favour of teaching Latin American dancing in Hong Kong, though they returned to competition later.^[6]

In May 2006, the couple came second in theBlackpool Professional Rising Stars Latin event,^[7] and in November they came third in the British Championship, Professional Latin.^[4] In 2010, he was a choreographer inSo You Think You Can Dance. As of 2014^[update] they live near Maidstone in Kent,^[2] close to his family who live onSt Mary's Island, Medway.^[2]

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In hisfirst series as aStrictly professional, Jordan partneredCasualty actressGeorgina Bouzova.

• Series average for Georgina and James: 19.3

In thefifth series ofStrictly, Jordan was partnered byBBC Sport presenterGabby Logan, whoserugby union player husbandKenny Logan was partnered byOla Jordan. This was the first time two married couples had competed against each other. Gabby and James were voted out in Week 4 of the competition,^[8] as he did in the previous series while Kenny and Ola were voted out in Week 9 (ending up in 5th place).

• Series average for Gabby and James: 30.0

In thesixth series ofStrictly Come Dancing, James Jordan danced with actressCherie Lunghi, while Ola's partner was the GMTV presenterAndrew Castle. After having exited so early in his previous series, James was concerned he was under a "four-week curse", which was then broken. He and Lunghi were voted off in Week 9, in a dance-off againstLisa Snowdon and her partnerBrendan Cole. In January–February 2009, Jordan also danced with Lunghi on the Strictly Come Dancing Tour 2009.

• Series average for Cherie and James: 32.4

Inseries 7, he was partnered by actressZöe Lucker but they were eliminated in week 7. Jordan stated that "winning that trophy is my dream but I wouldn't give up this wonderful lady for that ball." Eventually, wife Ola won the competition that year, partnered with presenterChris Hollins.

• Series average for Zöe and James: 31.4

Inthe 2010 series, Jordan was partnered with comedian and psychologistPamela Stephenson. Despite competing at the age of 61, Pamela quickly defied all odds by topping the judges' leaderboard for the first three weeks of the competition, and for six weeks in total, a record for the series. In week 10, theirViennese Waltz received the first ever perfect 40 from the judges for the series. The pair made it to theStrictly final, and despite never being in the bottom two even once before and were the highest-scoring couple throughout the evening, they eventually finished in third place behind actressKara Tointon and presenter and former gymnastMatt Baker. Pamela and James collected three perfect scores from the judges throughout the series, a record at the time they shared withLisa Snowdon andBrendan Cole inseries 6.

• Series average: 35.1
• Bold scores indicate the occasion where their dances were the highest-scoring dances of the respective weeks.

The One Show presenterAlex Jones was James Jordan's partner in the2011 series. Jordan and judgeCraig Revel Horwood were involved in a minor feud,^[9] as a 6 for Jones' Charleston in week 9 caused the couple to flutter down the leaderboard, as opposed to their top position the week before. The tough score outraged the professional dancer as he reportedly stormed out of the studio fuming, feeling the score to be undeserved and personal against James. Horwood further defended his judgement by claiming himself to be "tougher" as the competition goes. This feud was further reiterated when Horwood dropped James and Ola Jordan from theStrictly tour later in the year. Alex Jones reached the semi-final, eventually coming fifth in the competition.

^Jennifer Grey, the winner of the eleventh series ofDancing with the Stars, the American version of 'Strictly', was a guest judge, replacingLen Goodman while he had a week off.^[10]

• Series average for Alex and James: 30.3

For itstenth series in September 2012, Jordan was partners with television presenter, actress and singerDenise van Outen. Surpassing his feat with Pamela Stephenson, he secured the top position of the leaderboard 7 times with Denise, including 4 consecutive top positions. For the second time ever, he reached the final but placed his best in the competition overall, with Outen and Jordan finishing as runners-up with singerKimberley Walsh and her partnerPasha Kovalev, behind the winners gymnastLouis Smith and professional partnerFlavia Cacace.^[11]

• Series average for Denise and James: 35.1

On 7 September 2013,Strictly Come Dancing Jordan was partnered withVanessa Feltz. The pair were eliminated in the third round.

This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "James Jordan" dancer – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Jordan, together with Ola, took part in a celebrity version of television programmeTotal Wipeout which was broadcast on 26 December 2009. In 2013, Jordan took place in a celebrity version of Splash! for ITV's Text Santa.

In August 2014, James took part infourteenth series ofCelebrity Big Brother. He entered the house on Day 1 and finished third on the final night. Since 2014, Jordan has regularly appeared as a panellist onThe Wright Stuff.

Jordan and wife Ola appeared onThrough the Keyhole in September 2015, with hostKeith Lemon.

Jordan starred inCelebrity Big Brother 19 as an "all star" housemate. He was the fourth celebrity to be evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother House.

In 2019, Jordan participated in theeleventh series ofDancing on Ice, alongside professional partnerAlexandra Schauman. After receiving the most votes, Jordan and Schauman were crowned the winners of the series.

He also appeared on thefourth series ofCelebrity Coach Trip, alongside wife Ola.

• "James and Ola Jordan".Official website of the partnership.
• James Jordan atIMDb
• James JordanBiogs.com profile

• 1978 births
• Living people
• British ballroom dancers
• English male dancers
• People from Gillingham, Kent

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