Exclusive: Ola Jordan prepares for emotional big change for daughter Ella
There are some big changes in the Jordan household ahead! Professional Ballroom and Latin dancer and former Strictly Come Dancing champion Ola Jordan spoke to HELLO! for her latest Ola & Ella column about Ella's upcoming major milestone – the four-year-old will be starting big school in September.
Ola, who shares her daughter with fellow professional dancer James Jordan, opens up about how she's feeling about the emotional change, and little Ella reveals she's so excited.
The mum-of-one also reveals details about their recent trip to Poland, how James is getting on with his gruelling tour rehearsals for Strictly Cabaret and the Legends Tour, and how little Ella has been cheering on the England football team in the Euros.
Read on to hear about the Jordans' week…
Ella's journey to big school
Are you excited Ella? "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Ella didn't go to nursery this morning because she's going to big school later for a 'stay and play'. We go in and get to see her teachers, and we're going there on Monday as well.
I feel OK [about it] now. When she was going to nursery I was like, 'Oh, no.' But now I think she's so ready.
James won't be here for her very first day at school because he's away touring. He's gutted not to be there, but he's working doing a theatre show in Lincoln the first week of September and then he's coming back, but then he goes straight into rehearsals for the Legends Tour which will keep him very busy!
From the second week of September, Ella is doing either morning or afternoonat school, we don't know yet. On the third week, everyone is doing the morning with a lunch.
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And then in the third or fourth week, they are starting the whole thing. It's a process, isn't it? But I guess it's important to settle them into school slowly.
The Jordans' trip to Poland
We went to Poland and it was really good for Ella to be with her grandparents. Ella loved it and when she heard we were coming home, she said: "It's not long enough, I want to stay longer!"
But we had to come back because we had a meeting at Ella's nursery. It was nice to get away and I think we might do it again in August, but maybe go just me and Ella as James will be rehearsing. It would be nice to do that.
Ella following in her parents' footsteps
She's been doing her dance classes as well and today there's a performance. At the end of the rehearsals at her class, parents can come in for 10 minutes.
They're doing a performance of what they learned - it's going to be so cute.
James's impressive touring schedule
We haven't booked a holiday this year, and I don't know if we will to be honest because James is training for the tour. He's training really hard and trying to focus because it's quite full-on on your body.
You've got to get your body ready because otherwise it's just not going to happen. It's different when you do Strictly and then go on tours because your body stays the same: prepared.
But when you have a break - and we haven't really done any tours like that - we do a lot of individual dance shows but that is nothing compared to doing a full-on tour.
The tour has been selling really well, and they added about six or seven more matinees, which is going to be brilliant but it's also going to be hard work. I know it's going to be tough on his body... he's not as young as he used to be!
As if he isn't busy enough, James is also doing Pantomime this Christmas playing Dandini in Cinderella in Chesterfield. I don't think Ella understands, but I'm looking forward to taking her to see her dad on the stage for that one as she hasn't seen him acting before. He's pretty good actually!
She loves Cinderella as well and she loves the book so I think she will love that.
Ella cheering on the England team!
We watched the football at Grandma's and Ella loved it because everyone was screaming at the TV! Ella thought, 'What is this?'
Her cousin was there, and Grandma had the funny glasses, the flags and everything.
She likes playing football and Ella also likes her Barbies - she's got quite a few Barbies now. She goes, 'This is Mummy and this is Daddy with two Barbies'.
I went to the shop to get a Daddy Barbie and she picked the footballer Ken!
You can buy tickets for James' show, Strictly Cabaret, here.
Tickets for the Strictly Legends of the Dance Floor.
You can also purchase tickets for the Cinderella pantomime in Chesterfield starring James, here.
