Strictly star Ore Oduba reveals his next career move after announcing his shock split from wife Portia following nine years of marriage

Ore Oduba has revealed his latest career move, following his shock announcement that he and his wife Portia have split after nine years of marriage.

The presenter, 38, confirmed the 'difficult' news in an Instagram statement last month, where he revealed they had decided to split earlier this year. 

But it seems the star is throwing himself into his work, as it was revealed on Monday he is joining the cast of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang UK Tour.

Ore will be playing the role of Caractacus Potts - made famous by Dick Van Dyke - in the musical, based on the beloved 1968 film and Ian Fleming's original novel.

He will be taking over the role of the widowed inventor from Adam Garcia, whose run will end in Blackpool in December.

Ore will then appear in the show beginning in March at Birmingham's Hippodrome, and performing in Manchester, Bournemouth, Canterbury, Cardiff, Sunderland, Bristol and ending in Plymouth in May.

He will be joined by Emmerdale star Liam Fox as Grandpa Potts, Ellie Nunn as Truly Scrumptious, Martin Callaghan as Baron, Jenny Gayner as Baroness, Adam Stafford as Boris, Michael Joseph as Goran and John Macaulay as The Toymaker. 

The broadcaster has previously trod the boards in a number of musicals, beginning with a turn in the UK Tour of Grease in 2019.

His other theatre credits include Aaron Fox in Curtains the Musical, Prince Charming in Cinderella and Brad Majors in the West End and UK tour of the 50th anniversary production of The Rocky Horror Show.

His most recent stage role saw him play Happy Man/Mr Thompson in the UK and Ireland tour of Pretty Woman.

As well as his presenting career, Ore is most known for winning Strictly Come Dancing champion in 2016, with his professional partner Joanne Clifton.

His latest career update comes just weeks after he revealed he had split from his wife Portia in a joint statement on Instagram.

He wrote: 'Hi guys. Portia and I are sad to announce that we separated earlier this year. We’re so grateful for all the love you’ve shared with us both over the years. 

'And we want to thank you in advance for respecting our privacy as we navigated this difficult transition. We will be making no further comment. Be kind, always.'

The couple met at Loughborough University in 2010, before tying the knot five years later in November 2015.

They went on to become parents in January 2018 with the birth of their son Roman,  now six, before welcoming daughter Genie, three, in 2021.

In the wake of their announcement, Portia took to her own Instagram to break her silence on their split and thank fans for their supportive messages.

She wrote: 'I just wanted to come on and say thank you so much for every single message. I don't know what my next chapter looks like, but who ever does, that's life.

'Thank you again to you, if you have followed me on here for a long time or if you are new, hello! I'll be back on her as soon as. Save me a wine! I'm ok.' 

Ore previously gushed about his wife, admitting that he couldn't stop crying on their wedding day.

He told The Mirror at the time: 'On my wedding day I cried from 11 in the morning until 2am that night.

'There's a picture of me wailing, my best men there laughing and Portia absolutely cracking up next to me - I am the only one crying.'

But in 2021, Ore spoke about how the past 12 months have been particularly 'challenging' for them after becoming parents, admitting they had shared 'a few little tiffs' and had to 'remember we love each other'.

He said: 'My wife and I will be ten years together next month and we’ve never done anything more challenging than the last 12 months. There were tears, tantrums.

'Roman has enhanced our world more than we could have dreamt but there are times we have to remember that we love each other and what’s why he’s here. He's been our guardian angel in lockdown but he's also been the cause of a few little tiffs.

'It's just finding that time for each other. Every household is different. Communication is the key. We don't go to bed in an argument.'

He continued: 'I'm someone who thrives on routine. When we didn't have that, I found it quite difficult to get some kind of structure.

'Spending more time with each other gave us more appreciation for what the other person does.'

Ore has also played down Strictly's so-called curse, saying that Portia was very supportive of his stint on the programme.

He said: 'We were very fortunate, because actually my wife was the kind of woman who said, "Can you get back in that rehearsal room with that wonderful woman, because you need to be a better dancer."

'We were a year married and thankfully we got through it. Here we are, five years down the track.' 

He also told The Sun: 'The show is so 24/7 and I didn’t want Portia to feel like an outsider. The three of us went out for dinner and bowling together. I won.

'But Portia and Jo got on so brilliantly, I was the third wheel! If anything, the curse has stolen my wife because I feel left out when we all hang out together.

'I really couldn’t have been more fortunate than to get two brilliant blonde bombshells in my life.'