AJ Odudu

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. 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.

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 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 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 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 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.

Filmography Year Title Role 2009 The Almost Perfect Guide to Life Co-presenter The 5:19 Show Co-presenter 2010 Teensville: Teen Witches Presenter 2011 Dirty Digest Panellist Comedy Lab Herself 2012 Isle of Wight Festival 2012 Co-presenter 2013 Big Brother's Bit on the Side Co-presenter Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side Co-presenter 2015–2016 The Hot Desk Presenter 2018 Manhunting with My Mum Presenter 2019 The Voice UK Backstage presenter The Voice Kids Backstage presenter Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins Contestant 2020 The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice Series 4; Episode 1 – Herself Richard Osman's House of Games Series 4; Episodes 16–20 – Herself Don't Rock the Boat Co-presenter 2021 Would I Lie To You? Herself Celebrity Karaoke Club Winner The Wheel Expert Cooking with the Stars Contestant Rolling In It Contestant Apocalypse Wow Presenter The Big Breakfast Co-presenter Strictly Come Dancing Series 19; Finalist Married at First Sight UK: Afters Presenter Emma and AJ Get to Work Co-presenter; alongside Emma Willis 2022 The Great Comic Relief Prizeathon Co-presenter; alongside Vernon Kay Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Spokesperson for the UK's votes The Bridge: Race to a Fortune Presenter Platinum Jubilee Pageant Presenter Rosie Jones' Trip Hazard Herself Red Bull Soapbox Race: London 2022 Co-presenter; alongside Will Best The Hit List Contestant RuPaul's Drag Race UK Special guest; Series 4 The Last Leg: Christmas Bash Special guest The Weakest Link Contestant The Big Blow OutHost 2023 The Big Interiors Battle Presenter Time For A Check In Presenter Eurovision Song Contest 2023: Handover and Allocation Draw Co-host; alongside Rylan Clark Pointless Celebrities Contestant The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off Herself The Greatest Auction Host Shopping with Keith LemonHerself; one episode Mary Makes It Easy Guest 2023–present Big Brother Co-presenter; alongside Will Best 2024-2025 M&S: Dress the Nation Co-presenter; alongside Vernon Kay 2024–present Celebrity Big Brother Co-presenter; alongside Will Best 2026 Gladiators: Celebrity Special Herself / Contestant