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James comes from a family of performers. Both his parents taught the formation team at Peggy Spencer’s dance school in Penge who appeared on ‘Come Dancing’ for 40 years.

James began dancing at 10 years old and it wasn’t long before the teachers realised he had talent. At 14 James started competing and had become very successful by the time he turned 18. ‘Suddenly I was doing really well in the competitions and I noticed that girls became interested in me the more successful I became. It made me try even harder!’

James was a major finalist in all Open International Competitions for the Under 21’s. He was ranked one of the best in the world. Once he turned 21, James could no longer take part in youth competitions, so he decided to take a break from competing and stopped dancing with his partner. ‘To be honest, I was fed up with dancing for a while, and just wanted a break. I split with my partner, but earlier on at a competition, I had seen Ola dancing and thought she was absolutely amazing. When I split with my partner I immediately thought of Ola.’

James took a six month break, and decided to travel to Poland to try dancing with Ola. They were perfect together. Within three weeks Ola had moved to the UK and they'd become dance partners. After six months they entered their first competition and went onto compete all over the world, winning many championships and becoming one of the top 12 dance couples in the world.

James and Ola married in October 2003 and moved to Hong Kong where they both taught Latin American dancing for four years. After that they both got itchy feet and decided to hit the dance circuit once more, and at this point hit the peak of their competitive career. James and Ola entered ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One’s Strictly Come Dancing series 4 and since taking part they have appeared in the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour as well as performing dance showcases across the UK and Europe. In 2009, James partnered actress Zoe Lucker and they made it all the way to week seven.

James is head judge on Dancing On Wheels and says..... ‘Dancing is about technique but it is also about emotion. I don’t think I’ve ever been moved so much when watching dancing and I’ve been dancing for 22 years. I was absolutely enthralled, I couldn’t take my eyes off it.’