Ola Jordan leaves husband James in charge of baby Ella for a day find out what happened

Catch up on the former Strictly dancers' latest column

Parents across the country will relate to James and Ola Jordan's latest parenting column, with dad James taking the reins with their 15-month-old daughter Ella for a day.

The former Strictly dancers told HELLO! all about the busy day, which saw James deal with a pretty awful nappy incident, outfit decisions and unscheduled nap times when Ola stepped out to get her hair done.

Find out what the father and daughter got up to when left to their own devices below - and see adorable Ella in our exclusive video.

MORE: James and Ola Jordan's fans react to their epic garden with holiday villa vibes

WATCH: James Jordan and Ella's daddy-daughter day

The famous family also celebrated Father's Day together at home, but the occasion was tinged with sadness as James' father recently passed away. The couple spoke to us about the emotions they felt on the day.

James and Ella's day together

On Thursday, Ola headed to the hair salon for some mummy me-time. So how did James and Ella get on at home?

"It was good," says James. "I've done it a few times before – it wasn't the first time. But I'm not going to lie… as much as I love it, it is full-on. It's hard work. It's much easier to share between two people than it is to do it yourself. I enjoyed it, I liked it.

"Ola left at 8.30am, so I was up at 7.30am with Ella. Mummy was getting ready and we were just annoying her hanging around! Then we came downstairs and I did her some porridge."

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Ola and James Jordan

Ola asks James: "How did that porridge go because the first porridge didn't go very well?"

"This porridge was much better," he reports. "I didn't do it for as long. It tasted alright actually. It's actually quite easy – you ladies make a big thing of it but it's very easy!"

James continues: "She didn't eat loads because she woke up at 5am and we gave her a bottle. She probably only ate a third of her porridge, I'm not going to lie, and daddy ate the rest!

"Then we messed about for about an hour, played in her ball pit, sat down. She likes chilling out and watching TV so she lay on me. Then we slowly started getting ready because I wanted to take her out. I gave her a bottle then I got her dressed - which was fun!

"Those trousers have pockets on the front and I thought they should be on the back. I couldn't work out which way the trousers went."

Next comes the hilarious bit...

HELLO! readers, if you're averse to messy nappy stories, look away. Poor James had a bit of a nightmare changing Ella's nappy.

He reveals: "Ella's got this thing at the moment where she wants to turn over when you're changing her on the mat. I literally went to grab a nappy for one second, and she's on her front and there was poo everywhere!"

"Oh no!" says Ola. James adds: "So I had a bit of a panic and got the baby wipes out and wiped everything. It wasn't on her, fortunately." We really feel for him!

In the video, we see Ella in the cutest little yellow outfit, which dad James picked out for her. Excellent styling!

Daddy and Ella's day out

The pair then headed out, James picked up a coffee and they went to the park – but oh dear, Ella fell asleep in the car on the way there during a 10-minute journey.

"I was thinking, 'Oh how annoying'," says James. "Forty-five minutes she was asleep. When she woke up we played in the park for about an hour and a half."

So how did James find his day with Ella?

"I would say more panicked!" he tells us. "Everything is like, 'Oh no! Oh, don't do that!' I was changing her in the car, got the mat out but it's not easy because she kind of disappears into the crease of the car!

"It does make you realise that when I'm going, 'Ola, come on can we just go?', all that packing the bag, it does take a long time."

Ola grabs some me-time

Everyone needs a little time to themselves sometimes and while James was enjoying daddy time with Ella, Ola was at the salon.

She told us: "Oh, it was lovely, but the thing is, I do sit there and think about what Ella's doing right now. Like, did she have her porridge? You can't stop thinking about them, it's weird.

"It's almost like you want to have your time, you want to be out, but you also don't want to leave them – even though she's in the best hands she possibly could be, with her dad. He might struggle a bit but he's her dad, so she's in the best hands ever."

James and Ella in the pool

An emotional Father's Day

It was Father's Day on Sunday and the family had a relaxed day at home together.

"We didn't do much, we were just at home and had a chilled day. We had a pyjama day," says Ola. "Obviously daddy got a card and I let him lay in a bit. Then Ella was just chilling with daddy on the sofa, it was so sweet."

James told us that he had a nice day with his two girls, but of course, he missed his father hugely.

"I think Father's Day is always going to be like that for me now," he says. "That must be the same for anyone that's lost a parent and has children. It's happy because you're a dad but at the same time, it's really sad as well.

"I spoke to my mum – I speak to my mum every day. It's just weird really, it's hard to explain. It was a weird day and we didn't really talk about it."

Ola adds: "It was a strange day for us not being out with him. Even for me, it was a strange day. It's lovely that James can share it with Ella now. She's so cute. She's very into cuddling now and grabs your face and gives you kisses."

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Ola and James congratulate Anton

Earlier this week, dancer Anton Du Beke was announced as a judge on the hit show for the 2021 series, standing in for Bruno Tonioli.

"It is amazing," beams Ola. "He's been there for such a long time. Everyone knows that he wanted a step up and we're so happy for him."

Anton Du Beke is a new judge on

James agrees: "He deserves it. He's been there from day dot, you see. He's the professional who's danced on the show the longest; he's done every single series and he deserves it. People love him. He needed some form of promotion.

"I sent him a message saying congratulations but I bet he's been inundated with people. I'll see him playing golf at some point. I'm not mega close with Anton but we've always got on well. I'm really happy for him."

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