SerpApi.Org
- Have YOU got a story? Email [email protected]
Strictly Come Dancing star Joanne Clifton is pregnant with her first child.
The dancer, 42, shared she's set to welcome a baby with her fiancé AJ Jenk in December in a sweet Instagram post.
Joanne won Strictly Come Dancing back in 2016 with presenter Ore Oduba, and appeared as a professional on the show for three years.
She shared the news by posting a sweet snap of her Baby On Board badge, with AJ then revealing their baby's due date in the caption.
In a tongue-in-cheek caption, AJ wrote: 'Can't wait to meet…ErlingbellinghamDebrunyeLennonMcCartneyTaylorHansonHelenMcroryClaudiaWinklemanAlanCarrBuddyHollyPollyShermanPrincessFiona Clifton-Jenks.
'Cya in December.'
Many of Joanne's Strictly co-stars offered their congratulations in the comments, including Dianne Buswell, Oti Mabuse, and Joanne's brother Kevin, who won Strictly back in 2019.
Joanne revealed in September that she was engaged as she posted a snap of her sparkling ring following AJ's proposal.
She captioned the post: 'Got bored … so we're getting married. Cheers.'
The couple first revealed their romance back in 2020, with Joanna admitting that AJ changed her mind after she ruled out dating anyone from her industry.
She told Metro: 'Before I met my boyfriend AJ, I said to myself, I'm not going to go out with anyone from the industry.
'But you can't help what happens. I went to see AJ in the Buddy Holly musical and he asked me out for a drink.
'I was convinced it wasn't going to work but we've been together nearly two years now.'
Joanne quit Strictly after she was crowned champion in 2016, and while she became a regular on spin-off It Takes Two, she has since carved out a hugely successful West End career.
The dancer has performed in shows including Shrek The Musical, The Addams Family, and most recently Fawlty Towers: The Play.
Earlier this year, Joanna also announced she and Ore were reuniting for a nationwide tour to celebrate 10 years since their Strictly win.
Joanne suffers from osteoarthritis in both knees - a condition she’d been diagnosed with the year before, aged just 31.
In 2021 she shared that her knees are now so stiff she can’t get out of her car without the aid of a special device to grip on to to lever herself out. She can’t run or jump and must be ultra-careful of housework that involves crouching.
Osteoarthritis, which affects 8.5 million adults in the UK, is where the protective cartilage at the ends of the bones breaks down.
It is generally caused by wear and tear and while the first twinges begin in the over-40s, by 65 at least 50 per cent of Britons will suffer from osteoarthritis to some degree in at least one joint - most commonly, the knees.
But younger people can get it too due to obesity (which puts excess pressure on the joints), a sedentary lifestyle (which can stiffen joints, leading to wear and tear), genes or - as in Joanne’s case - from being very active.
By the time she reached the Strictly final in 2016, Joanne’s knees had taken the brunt of intense training with broadcaster Ore. Their final show involved leaping on and off drum tops.
‘I was a bit silly - I put a great idea ahead of my own condition,’ she told Good Health. ‘I’d been told when I was diagnosed in 2015 to avoid high-impact movements. We’d been practising jumping all week.
‘By the Friday and Saturday, I was really struggling. I look back on that dance now and think: “Ooh, for the sake of my knees, why did I choreograph all that jumping?”.
‘After our last dance, I could only hobble up to Claudia [Winkleman] to get our points. But winning was a great feeling despite the pain.’
Read more
