He burst onto our screens in 2009 as part of the Britain’s Got Talent winning act Diversity and since then Jordan Banjo has become a household name. Still touring with the dance troupe, he also co-hosts a weekday breakfast show on Kiss Radio with fellow Diversity star Perri Kiely and is a dad of three.
Now he’s about to release his first-ever dance tracks, teaming up with Nestlé to create remixes of ice cream van jingles for a new range of sweets.
We caught up with Jordan to talk 5am starts, social media backlash and juggling a career with family.
You’ve got a super busy schedule – what does a typical day look like?
My daily routine, especially when we’re on tour, is nuts. I get up at about 4.45am then head either to the studio or wherever we’re doing the radio show from while we’re touring. We have a catch-up, do a little bit of prep, and the show starts. It runs from 7am to 11am. Afterwards, we’ll do interviews and then I’ll head to a training session – it might be strength or boxing. Then I’ll come back, FaceTime the kids and head to the dance show venue, meet with the rest of the boys and do another workout with my brother [Ashley]. Then it’s the show – and repeat the next day!
You don’t have a spare moment!
Yeah, we’ve done Kiss breakfast while on tour before and it was intense then, but this one has been even more so because we started touring in September and it’s carrying on to the end of April. It’s been a bit crazy trying to keep everything on schedule. Ash also got injured so he was out for a while. We had to cancel a show then spend the next few days trying to change everything around. Then, when we finally got the show in a good place, the main girl in the lead with Ash was hit by a bus! Bless her, she had a broken wrist and was bruised up but she’s absolutely fine.
Diversity has been performing for close to 15 years. How has the group changed over time?
There were 11 of us in the original group and apart from the little ones, Mitch and Perri, I was the youngest. Now I’m 31 and have had countless injuries and surgeries on knees and ankles just to keep going. Some of the boys are in their forties now, some have left and have families. Ash is on Dancing On Ice, me and Perri are on Kiss, and I’ve done the jungle. It’s busier, but all the good stuff has stayed the same, which is important.
With three children, how do you juggle family life with work?
I have to tip my hat to my amazing wife, Naomi. She’s incredible and the foundation of the family… that’s me grovelling by the way! I do really miss the kids when I’m away, I won’t lie. The last couple of years I’ve done nothing but work. We’re blessed to be in a position to have the opportunities to do that, but at the same time, you need to find balance, for me and my wife as a couple and for the kids. But I can’t sit here and moan because there are millions of parents working two or three jobs to make ends meet. We’re really fortunate that my wife can be at home with the kids, I can work and still get back as and when.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1712638678/articles/rKl91Vk0Y1712648494497/5527313959.jpg]
Your Black Lives Matter performance in 2020 sparked thousands of complaints. When you look back, how do you feel about that?
When you’re in the moment, negative voices always feel the loudest. We only did a dance on Britain’s Got Talent but people were acting like we did something awful. At the time it felt like the worst thing in the world, but ultimately you realise nobody really cares that much. Everyone is cracking on with their lives and you have to do the same. We won a BAFTA for the performance, we sparked really positive conversations among friends and family, and more impor...
Now he’s about to release his first-ever dance tracks, teaming up with Nestlé to create remixes of ice cream van jingles for a new range of sweets.
We caught up with Jordan to talk 5am starts, social media backlash and juggling a career with family.
You’ve got a super busy schedule – what does a typical day look like?
My daily routine, especially when we’re on tour, is nuts. I get up at about 4.45am then head either to the studio or wherever we’re doing the radio show from while we’re touring. We have a catch-up, do a little bit of prep, and the show starts. It runs from 7am to 11am. Afterwards, we’ll do interviews and then I’ll head to a training session – it might be strength or boxing. Then I’ll come back, FaceTime the kids and head to the dance show venue, meet with the rest of the boys and do another workout with my brother [Ashley]. Then it’s the show – and repeat the next day!
You don’t have a spare moment!
Yeah, we’ve done Kiss breakfast while on tour before and it was intense then, but this one has been even more so because we started touring in September and it’s carrying on to the end of April. It’s been a bit crazy trying to keep everything on schedule. Ash also got injured so he was out for a while. We had to cancel a show then spend the next few days trying to change everything around. Then, when we finally got the show in a good place, the main girl in the lead with Ash was hit by a bus! Bless her, she had a broken wrist and was bruised up but she’s absolutely fine.
Diversity has been performing for close to 15 years. How has the group changed over time?
There were 11 of us in the original group and apart from the little ones, Mitch and Perri, I was the youngest. Now I’m 31 and have had countless injuries and surgeries on knees and ankles just to keep going. Some of the boys are in their forties now, some have left and have families. Ash is on Dancing On Ice, me and Perri are on Kiss, and I’ve done the jungle. It’s busier, but all the good stuff has stayed the same, which is important.
With three children, how do you juggle family life with work?
I have to tip my hat to my amazing wife, Naomi. She’s incredible and the foundation of the family… that’s me grovelling by the way! I do really miss the kids when I’m away, I won’t lie. The last couple of years I’ve done nothing but work. We’re blessed to be in a position to have the opportunities to do that, but at the same time, you need to find balance, for me and my wife as a couple and for the kids. But I can’t sit here and moan because there are millions of parents working two or three jobs to make ends meet. We’re really fortunate that my wife can be at home with the kids, I can work and still get back as and when.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1712638678/articles/rKl91Vk0Y1712648494497/5527313959.jpg]
Your Black Lives Matter performance in 2020 sparked thousands of complaints. When you look back, how do you feel about that?
When you’re in the moment, negative voices always feel the loudest. We only did a dance on Britain’s Got Talent but people were acting like we did something awful. At the time it felt like the worst thing in the world, but ultimately you realise nobody really cares that much. Everyone is cracking on with their lives and you have to do the same. We won a BAFTA for the performance, we sparked really positive conversations among friends and family, and more impor...
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New UK (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 15, 2024