Strictly Come Dancing champion Ore Oduba has revealed his struggle to fill the “huge hole” that competing in the show left in his life.
The sports presenter was appearing on ITV’s Lorraine show to talk about his new project, which will see him taking part in the first ever Celebrity Boat Race for charity.
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And hunky Ore admitted that part of the reason he has taken on the tough physical challenge was because of its similarities to the BBC dancing show.
Describing how much he missed his Strictly experience, which saw him reduced to tears most weeks, Ore told Lorraine:
“Being on that programme and on a Saturday night performing live in front of a few hundred people just in the studio, let alone a couple of million on the telly, it’s exhilarating.
“There is such a huge hole that has been left in me since that show, you’ve got to try and fill it somehow.”
And one of the ways he’s tackling it is by throwing himself headfirst into this new tough challenge.
Two teams of celebrities – one led by Ore and the other led by fellow Strictly winner Harry Judd – will compete against each other to triumph in the contest and raise money for Cancer Research UK. Famous faces taking part include Gethin Jones, Vernon Kay and Rebecca Adlington.
Trained by Olympic legends Sir Steve Redgrave and James Cracknell, the rowing hopefuls will have their watery challenge broadcast during the BBC’s coverage of the iconic Cambridge and Oxford University boat race this coming Sunday.
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Ore, who was guided to Strictly victory by his professional partner Joanne Clifton, said that being trained by the Olympic heroes was a similar experience.
“Rowing is not easy, like any expert in their field, they make it look so simple. The co-ordination you need just to put the oar in the water,” he added.
“We all just thought ‘why are we here doing this, because this isn’t what we thought we were signing up for!’”
Lorraine also grilled the star on having children with wife Portia, asking him: “So when are you going to have babies?”
He joked: “Are you going to get on my back with the babies as well as my mum and dad?!
“Give us a break! Give us a chance! We haven’t got the time!”