STRICTLY Come Dancing’s Ola and James Jordan say their bedroom action has never been better – after losing more than 7st between them.
Ola, 40, says: “The spark is definitely back. James is proper fit, I fancy him so much.
Ola and James Jordan are now almost back to their Strictly weight after an inspiring weight loss journeyCredit: Dance Shred
Ola and James launched their fitness programme Dance Shred to lose unwanted weightCredit: Instagram
“The bellies aren’t in the way any more and, naturally, because I’m fitter I feel better in myself and have more confidence.
“So when I put a dress on and my husband goes, ‘Oh, that’s a nice dress, I like that’, and I go, ‘Darling, I’ve had this dress for years, I just couldn’t fit in it’, of course, it makes you feel good.
“Then you think, ‘Oh, I’m possibly sexier in the bedroom’, so it then follows into being more confident in the bedroom.”
The pro dancers, who competed on Strictly from 2006 to 2015, before Ola continued on the BBC show two more years, are now almost back to their dancing weight.
It’s not just their chemistry between the sheets that has improved, their stamina has too.
Ola says: “There’s lots of short bursts of energy.”
James, 45, adds: “Now I can lift her and throw her about in the bedroom a bit more.”
In July last year, the couple — who are parents to three-year-old daughter Ella — shared a filter-free picture showing their “mum and dad bods”.
Ola had gone from 8st to 11st 9lb, and James from 11st to 15st 6lb.
She and James revealed their sex life was very much flopping last year after piling on the pounds, and admitted their “bellies were getting in the way”.
Ola confessed at the time she had been hesitant about posting the Instagram snap, but decided to in the hope that it would motivate her “to do something about it”.
Diet plan
She now says: “I am so glad I posted that picture. It gave me the motivation to start my weight-loss journey. There’s no point deleting that picture and forgetting about it, as it’s part of my story.
“I wasn’t in a good place and was just putting on so much weight. But it helped me to start losing it.”
James says: “People were really happy she did post the picture because they said it made her more relatable, which is true.
“There are lots of people in a very similar position. Ola said she wasn’t in a good place, wasn’t happy with where she was with her body, and unfortunately there’s so many other people out there like that.
“I’m all for body positivity, and if people are happy in their own skin and they don’t want to do anything about it, that is also fine.
“But let’s not forget there’s a lot of people in those positions that aren’t happy and want to do something about it. And they are the ones that we really want to help.”
In just four months, Ola and James shed the extra pounds.
Ola is now 8st 3lb and back in her size 8 clothes, and James is down to 11st 6lb, after they lost a combined 7st 6lb.
How did they do it?
Ola and James are parents to three-year-old daughter EllaCredit: Instagram
Ola and James revealed their sex life was very much flopping last year after piling on the poundsCredit: Dance Shred
James says: “We simply put less in our mouths. Last year we were doing the opposite. It’s a mind-over-matter thing — and no excuses.
“But we knew we had to do something about it, because we were an unhealthy weight.
“Lots of people make excuses, and we would put ourselves in that category as well.”
Ola and James launched their fitness programme Dance Shred, which includes 15 minutes of fun-and-easy dance moves, and a diet plan based on the science of calorie deficit.
And to help others get in shape this summer, they have just added a Salsa Four Week Summer Dance Shred.
Ola says: “We will wake up in the morning, and if Ella’s going to be here we often do it with Ella, she’ll join in with us dancing — she is so sweet.
“If she’s at nursery, we drop her off then come home and do it before we start work. Salsa is one of the most popular dances and we have focused specifically on body parts. So you can burn your legs, core and bum — and we’ve mixed functional exercise and rhythm with it. We’ve burnt loads of calories doing it.”
James sparked a backlash last year when he admitted he prefers Ola when she’s “thinner”.
But he stands by his comments — and says the pair can’t keep their hands off each other following their weight loss.
He says: “Yes, we fancy each other more now. When I said that, I got a lot of negativity from it. It’s hard in a world where we live in at the moment where you get criticised for being honest.
“If someone asked me if I prefer Ola healthy, fitter, happier and wearing clothes she likes wearing, and when she is sexier, compared to overweight and unhealthy, I choose the healthy one. If that’s a bad thing to say, then I am a bad man. We lost weight not to necessarily aesthetically look perfect, we did it because we wanted to be healthier and run around with our daughter. I was having reflux, and struggling to walk about the golf course, where I was getting out of breath. We knew we needed to change.”
Ola adds: “James is not a bad man for saying what he said. After losing the weight I am more confident, I can now wear different outfits and I feel better.
Nude shot
“We can both be more active and dance around with our daughter Ella, it makes us better parents too.
“It’s all about being healthier, it’s not about being perfect.
“My body’s not perfect, I’ve had a baby and my stomach stretched because of it so it’s not going to look the same. My boobs are never going to look the same.
“It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being a better version of yourself.” With their newfound confidence, Ola and James now aim to redefine their forties — so much so they say they are even ditching their clothes.
James says: “I think being in our forties now and being fit is great too. You don’t want to be sitting at home doing nothing, you want to get up and you want to push yourself because it makes you feel better.”
He jokes: “When we go on holiday this year I won’t be packing any tops, just shorts. And Ola will be packing knickers and bras and nothing else. We won’t be taking clothes with us.
“People will be able to see on our social media that Ola even goes to Sainsbury’s in her underwear now.”
They even agree that there’s scope for a joint nude shoot.
Ola confesses: “We actually did one years ago, but no one has ever, ever seen it. It started off just like sexy dancing pictures, and then it was like, ‘Oh James why don’t you take your top off?’ And then before you knew it we just decided to go for it and do a naked shoot.”
James says: “Would we release another one? Maybe. Or we could Photoshop our old one and put our faces on it.”
The couple, who tied the knot in October 2003 after first meeting at a 1999 dance competition in Blackpool, certainly have not lost their zest for life — and they plan to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in style.
James says: “We were trying to go to Vegas, we used to go there when we were younger, living in Hong Kong.
“We want to go there for two or three days, and have a massive blow-out — like the movie Hangover — and just get absolutely wasted.
“And then come back and go back to being Mummy and Daddy.”
- The Salsa Four Week Summer Dance Shred is now available exclusively to buy at danceshred.co.uk.
Ola is now 8st 3lb and back in her size 8 clothesCredit: Instagram
James is down to 11st 6lbCredit: Instagram
