AJ Odudu — Movies, TV Shows & Roles

Actor

1988-02-12 · Blackburn, Lancashire, England · Female

53 series in the catalog

Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu (born 12 February 1988) is a British television presenter. She co-presents the ITV2 reality shows Big Brother (since 2023) and Celebrity Big Brother (since 2024) alongside Will Best, and previously the spin-off show Big Brother's Bit on the Side (2013). In 2021, she presented the Channel 4 reality show spin-off Married at First Sight: Afters.
Early life and education
Onatejiro Odudu was born on 12 February 1988 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. Her mother, Florence, and father, James, are Nigerian and she is one of eight children (five boys and three girls). Her parents had an arranged marriage, for which her mother emigrated to the United Kingdom from Nigeria in the 1970s. Her father worked as a bus conductor, and her mother worked as a seamstress, cleaner, and dinner lady at a private school.
Odudu attended St Bede's RC High School and St Mary's College in Blackburn. In 2009 she graduated with a degree in English and politics from Keele University.
Career
Odudu began her career as a reporter for BBC Blast based at Radio Lancashire. Her first presenting roles began in 2009 on the BBC Two series The Almost Perfect Guide to Life and on The 5:19 Show, an online show on the BBC website, having previously served as the latter's 'raving reporter'. In 2010, she was a guest on 100 Greatest Toys, a one-off special broadcast on Channel 4. She starred as herself in Comedy Lab in 2011 and co-presented Sky Arts' coverage of the Isle of Wight Festival 2012.
In June 2013, Odudu began presenting Big Brother's Bit on the Side with Rylan Clark and Emma Willis, and then Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Psych from August 2013. Her departure from the show was confirmed in November 2013, being replaced by Celebrity Big Brother 12 contestant and former Loose Women panellist, Carol McGiffin. In August 2013, Odudu launched her own blog on Hello magazine's UK website. From 2015 to 2019, Odudu hosted the 4Music programme Trending Live!, with Jimmy Hill and Vick Hope.
She regularly presented the online Facebook quiz game "Confetti" in March and April 2019.
In July 2021, she won the second series of Celebrity Karaoke Club on ITV2. Also in that month, Odudu was confirmed as co-host of a one-off revival edition of The Big Breakfast, presenting alongside the already-announced Mo Gilligan, for Channel 4 in September 2021.
In September 2021, Odudu began hosting the Channel 4 reality show spin-off Married at First Sight: Afters (later retitled Married at First Sight: Unveiled). The following year, she hosted the second series of the reality competition show The Bridge: Race to a Fortune for Channel 4 and HBO Max.. The following year, she hosted the second series of the reality competition show The Bridge: Race to a Fortune for Channel 4 and HBO Max.
In March 2022, she co-hosted The Great Comic Relief Prizeathon alongside Vernon Kay.
Odudu presented the UK jury points in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. In June 2022, she was a presenter for the BBC's coverage of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant. On 10 January 2023, it was announced that Odudu would co-host the official handover and semi-final allocation draw for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 that will be broadcast live on BBC Two.
Throughout late 2022 and 2023, Odudu expanded her hosting portfolio with several specialized competition and reality formats. She fronted the E4 hairdressing competition The Big Blow Out (2022), presented the property renovation series The Big Interiors Battle (2023) on Channel 4, and hosted the factual entertainment series The Greatest Auction (2023) for the same network.
In April 2023, it was announced that Odudu would be hosting the revival of Big Brother on ITV, alongside Will Best. Odudu and Best have also presented the spin-off Celebrity Big Brother since its revival in 2024.. The duo continued at the helm of the franchise through its subsequent 2025 iterations, including the second series of Celebrity Big Brother in April 2025 and the third main series in September 2025. In March 2025, she co-hosted the main live telethon for Comic Relief on BBC One alongside Vernon Kay and Paddy McGuinness. Later that year, she re-teamed with Kay to co-present the ITV design competition series M&S: Dress the Nation
Strictly Come Dancing
From September 2021, she was a competitor on the nineteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Kai Widdrington. They topped the leaderboard in their first week with a score of 34, and again in week 7, when they scored 39 for their Charleston to "Don't Bring Lulu". The couple also jointly topped the leaderboard in the semi-final, but were forced to withdraw from the competition on 17 December, the day before the final, after Odudu "tore a ligament" in her right ankle.
Personal life
As of 2021 Odudu lives in London. She is a qualified personal trainer and sports nutritionist, and runs in her spare time.
In June 2025, she announced her engagement on Instagram.