Actor, presenter, and winner of Strictly Come Dancing, Ore Oduba, will be playing squeaky-clean Brad Majors in the risqué performance of The Rocky Horror Show.
The cherished musical will be playing at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley from Monday, April 11 to Saturday, April 16.
The Rocky Horror Show follows brainy Brad Majors, along with his fiancée Janet Weiss, as they cross paths with mad scientist, Frank-N-Furter, and his peculiar supporters.
Ready to thrill the audience with laughter, the Rocky Horror Show features bold costumes, promiscuous dance moves and memorable songs.
Ore Oduba was born in London and raised in Dorset, where he studied sports and social sciences at Loughborough University - before his first job as a sports broadcaster in Edinburgh.
In 2008, he joined the Newsround team before going on to present BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live and The One Show.
As theatres began reopening after the pandemic, Ore, 35, believes The Rocky Horror Show is the “tonic” audiences around the country need.
He said: “Theatregoers are gagging for a great night out.
“They’re desperate and clawing at the walls, and this show is the perfect remedy to everything we’ve all been through.
“People want to laugh and be uplifted and to be able to forget about everything for a couple of hours.
“It’s all about ‘leaving your inhibitions at the door - we haven’t got time for that’.”
The show is set to feature hits from the 1973 musical: Dammit Janet, Sweet Transvestite and the prominent hit, The Time Warp.
Ore says he took the role as Brad before consulting with his wife, Portia, but had no worries as he claims it is one of her “favourite shows of all time”.
He added: “It’s such an iconic show and so well-loved.
“But I thought ‘I wonder what my wife is going to say about audiences seeing me in stockings’.
“I needn’t have worried because what I’d forgotten is that Rocky Horror is one of her and her family’s favourite shows of all time.
“She was beside herself.
“She also started chuckling at the idea of me being on stage in just my briefs for the early part of the show, then coming out later in stockings and high heels.”
Ore admits to have similarities with his nerdy role, as he claims to see characteristics of Brad in himself and other people.
He explained: “It’s the idea of being kind of caged animals, because we all have a lot of reservations and inhibitions and things we hold back.
“We’re just waiting to be unleashed.”
Ore won Strictly Come Dancing back in 2016, alongside his partner, Joanne Clifton, and has since continued to work as a presenter as well as branching out into musical theatre.
Ore added: “At secondary school I did every production under the sun.
“It was only when I went to university that I turned my attention to broadcasting, but Strictly reminded me ‘Oh my gosh, I love being on stage’.
“On the surface doing musical theatre now might seem like a big change-up but when I look back to where I felt happiest and most comfortable when I was younger it was always on stage.
“In many ways it’s kind of what I always wanted to do.”
Since it premiered in 1973 at The Royal Court’s Theatre Upstairs, Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show has grown into a worldwide production and has been seen by more than 30 million people worldwide.
“It’s always been on the radar”, Ore added, as he admitted to dance the Time Warp at every school disco or wedding.
Ore says the Rocky Horror Show is “pure escapism” and has been since its debut nearly 40 years ago.
He said: “You leave your troubles at the door, and you’re taken into a world that’s nothing like the real one.
“In addition to iconic music and brilliant dance numbers, it’s just such a feel-good show.”
Touring stages across the UK means Ore isn’t able to see much of Portia and their three-year-old son, Roman.
Ore explained: “For my little boy, it’s heart-breaking that daddy sometimes has to go away to work for periods of time.
“But it’s about managing it and making the most of that time together when I’m at home.
“Having said that, I have been at home pretty much non-stop for more than a year now.
“My wife will be the one pushing me out the door.
“She can’t wait for me to get back out on the road.”
The Rocky Horror Show will be playing at Churchill Theatre, Bromley from Monday 11 - Saturday April 16.
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