Aleksandra Grabowska has been dancing since the age of ten[4] when her school advertised a dance club.[2] Before dancing with James Jordan, she had danced with Przemek 'John' Lowicki in Poland.[8] She won Poland's Open Championships in 1999 aged seventeen, and went on to take 12th place in the following year's World Championships.[1][2][4]
The first recorded dance by Ola Grabowska and James Jordan as a partnership was in the Dutch Open in November 2000,[8][9] though they did not turn professional until 2003. The couple married in October 2003.[1] They withdrew from competition dancing in order to teach Latin American dancing in Hong Kong for four years,[2] though they turned professional again in 2005, after missing competing.[10][11] In May 2006, the couple came second in the Blackpool Professional Rising Stars Latin event,[2][8][9] and in November, they came third in the British Championships for Professional Latin.[9] Ola and husband James first took part in the BBC One television show Strictly Come Dancing series 4 in 2006.[1][3] In 2009, Ola won the Glitter Ball trophy with her celebrity dance partner, BBC sports reporter Chris Hollins in seventh series.[2][4]
DJ Spoony is the only celebrity not to appear on this list.
Jordan first appeared on Strictly Come Dancing during the show's fourth series in 2006, partnering DJ Spoony.[1][3] They were eliminated in the third round, a result which disappointed some of the audience. In series five, she danced with Scottish rugby player Kenny Logan[1] while her husband James danced with Kenny's wife, TV presenter Gabby Logan. This was the first time two married couples had competed against each other. Kenny was voted out of the show on the ninth week[12] while Gabby Logan was voted out earlier, in the fourth week.[13] Jordan was knocked out of series 6 in week seven of the competition, with her partner GMTV presenter Andrew Castle.[1]
In January–February 2009 Jordan danced with Kenny Logan on the Strictly Come Dancing Tour, and in series 7, she partnered BBC television sports reporter Chris Hollins, reaching the final and beating rivals Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe to become the 2009 champions.[2][5] Their prize was a Strictly Come Dancing glitter ball. Jordan and Hollins became affectionately known as 'Team Cola' by viewers and on the show, with Cola being a portmanteau of 'Chris' and 'Ola'.[1][14]
In the ninth series of the show, she was partnered with former Wales international footballer Robbie Savage.[1] They were the ninth couple voted out on 4 December 2011.[15]
In September 2012, during the show's tenth series, Jordan was partnered with EastEnders actor Sid Owen.[1] The couple were eliminated on Halloween week in October 2012.
In September 2014, for the show's twelfth series, Jordan was partnered with wildlife expert, presenter of the popular children's show Deadly 60 and its spinoffs, Steve Backshall. They were eliminated in week 9 (22/23 November 2014).[1] On 7 October 2014, Jordan and Backshall appeared on BBC Radio 1's Innuendo Bingo.[16]
On 5 September 2015, Strictly Come Dancing revealed Jordan would dance with sports commentator and Olympic medalist Iwan Thomas for the upcoming thirteenth series.[17] They were the first couple to leave the competition on 4 October 2015.[1] Shortly after their elimination, Jordan announced this was to be her last series of Strictly Come Dancing as she would not be returning in the following series. She made her last appearance when she was featured in a group dance for the Series 13 Final.[5]
Ola and James Jordan took part in a celebrity version of television programme Total Wipeout which was broadcast on 26 December 2009. In 2010, she and Strictly Come Dancing head judge Len Goodman appeared as a team in the BBC programme Bargain Hunt for the benefit of the Children in Need appeal. Ola and James Jordan also took part in the judging panel on the television show Dancing on Wheels in 2010, and the couple also appeared on All Star Mr & Mrs in 2013, where they won the show. Ola and James appeared on an episode of Through the Keyhole in September 2015, as celebrity homeowners.
In December 2014, Jordan was announced as one of the celebrity competitors for the Channel 4 series The Jump, a television show which requires celebrities to compete in events such as skeleton, ski jumping, bobsleigh, slalom, and ski cross.[18] While practicing for the series, Jordan fell during a training run.[19] The resulting injury forced Jordan to withdraw from The Jump, and also prevented her from participating in the Series 12 finale of Strictly Come Dancing.[19] The fall caused Jordan to suffer a torn ligament in her knee, an injury which required Jordan to undergo surgery.[20]
^ abcAl-Othman, Hannah (22 November 2015). "Ola Jordan tells twitter followers she has quit Strictly Come Dancing". Standard.co.uk. London, England: Evening Standard – Evening Standard Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2023. Hi tweeps.... So, yes it's true. I will be leaving Strictly at the end of this series. I have had an amazing 10 years on the show, but things change and I feel it's time for me to move onto other things.
.JPG)
