It's been a tough few months for the Jordan family with daughter Ella's recent health scare and the first anniversary of James' father's sad passing, so Ola and James decided a holiday was in order.
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The former Strictly dancers are currently enjoying a break in Abu Dhabi with two-year-old Ella as well as James' mum, Sharon, who has been spending quality time with her son playing golf. It's a tough time of year for the mother and son, so it's wonderful the pair got to have this holiday together.
WATCH: James and Ola Jordan's daughter Ella makes a friend!
In our exclusive column below, James and Ola tell HELLO! about their holiday and reveal their concerns over Ella's eating habits. They also share their plans for their return home, which include Ella starting nursery and a diet for them!
The Jordans hit Abu Dhabi
When HELLO! Zooms the Jordans, they are relaxing in their spacious hotel room at the Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island hotel, and Ella is keen to say hi…
HELLO!: Hi Ella! Are you having a good holiday?
Ella smiles: Yeah holiday! Swimming pool!
Ella has fun at the pool
James: We're having a great time, thanks. It's 36 degrees today. Ella is loving swimming in the pool – she was nervous to start with but now she's jumping right in with me catching her.
It's quite funny because Ella's actually gone really brown and daddy goes really red! So I have to put a higher factor on than my child which is really embarrassing.
James takes us on a tour of their stunning hotel room. The patio doors lead out onto their own section of a beautiful swimming pool. We're jealous!
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Ella in one of her cute swimming costumes
HELLO!: Have you been to the beach? We know James and Ella don't like sand much…
Ola: We had to cover ourselves in it to show Ella it's fine, but it didn't work.
HELLO!: Ella, it's really fun to bury daddy in the sand…
Ola: That's what I said!
James: You've got absolutely no chance!
Ola: It would take you forever, daddy's so big!
James: I took Ella to the beach today and she wanted to walk along it. It's lovely but miles long. I started walking, then I thought, oh my god, it's so hot. I was literally burning up, and I had factor 50 on. You know in the movies and they're walking in the desert and get blistered – I'd be like that within seconds.
We come back on Tuesday so we're just chilling here before then. It's whatever Ella wants to do.
Mum and Ella pose in their cool hats
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Ella's sleeping and eating on holiday
At home in the UK, Ella starts off the night in her own bed but come 1am, finds her way into mummy and daddy's bed. So what's happening on holiday?
James: Ella's been sleeping in the bed with us. We go for a drink after dinner, then when we get back, she climbs into our bed, pulls the cover over herself and sits there until we come to bed.
She's not eating very well out here, I must say. She's hungry all the time and all she's eating is what we brought with us really, like she's having a yoghurt now. She's such a bad eater.
Ola: It's stressful. She'll have just toast in the morning. Banana and then yoghurts or crisps that we brought with us. We wanted her to try something else so yesterday we ordered sea bass and some chips but she just sucked on a chip.
James: She was dipping the chips in ketchup and just sucking it off, but now I've said she can't have it unless she eats the chips so she's started biting them.
Ola: Normally she'd have a meal like spag bol every lunch and dinner.
HELLO!: How is her health after her virus?
James: She's alright, just a bit tired. But I think that the heat, swimming and not eating a lot are making her tired. She seems good within herself.
A father-daughter moment on holiday
Ola and James' shock
Everyone knows that holidays mean amazing food and just a little bit of pigging out – and that's what's happened to James and Ola!
James: The food is amazing here, but when we get back we're going on a massive diet.
Ola: We've got to do it!
James: There are a lot of mirrors in this hotel. I walked past a mirror in a corridor the other day and I thought, 'Who's that fat bloke?' and then I realised it was me!!
Ola: I thought the same about me. I thought 'that mirror really makes me fat', but it wasn't that mirror, it was me. We're enjoying the holiday and the food, but as soon as I step out of that plane, we have got to change our ways.
James: We've really let ourselves go.
This is no lie: there's a gym instructor here and every day he tries to get us to workout and we're like, 'No, no. no'. We've been posting stuff on our Instagram and today he came up to us and said, 'You have so many followers! How come you have so many followers?' I said, 'Well we used to dance'. And he laughed! He thought I was joking. I was like, 'No, we danced mate'. He said, 'Oh, oh, oh ok!'
Ella strikes a pose!
Ella making friends
HELLO!: Ella was popular with the boys on your Dubai holiday last year – has she any admirers or new friends in Abu Dhabi?
James: There's been a few boys checking her out, but I scared them off early on!
Ola: There's one English couple who have a daughter about three months older than Ella. That's the only other child we've met.
James: Ella doesn't seem fussed about mixing with other children. She prefers being with us. It's nice but I'd like to see her interact with other kids. We definitely need to get her into nursery as soon as we get back, so she can learn to interact with children a bit more – because she's not very good is she?
Ola: No, she's not.
James: Everyone loves Ella here though because she's such a character. When we go to the restaurant everyone wants to talk to her and pick her up. They have singers and musicians playing and Ella always stops and tells me to clap, which is so sweet.
As we chat, James pans the camera around and shows Ella's fallen asleep on the sofa, aw…
James: Yep, she's so tired. She fights it so much. Today is extremely hot, so it's wiped her out. Looks like we're staying in the room for a while now…
Ola: Until madam wakes up. Then we'll go for lunch.
James: She's been going to be bed about 10pm after we've had dinner, then she'll sleep until about 9am – it's great, we get a lie in for a change!
