Spend just five minutes in the company of Ashley and Jordan Banjo, and Perri Kiely, and it quickly becomes clear how inseparable they are. As heat sits down with them for a catch up, their energy is undeniable, with brothers Ashley, 36, and Jordan, 32, and their honorary sibling, close pal Perri, 29, chattering away as if they haven’t seen each other in ages.
The lads first shot to fame in 2009, winning the third series of Britain’s Got Talent as part of dance troupe Diversity. While the group – which was founded by Ashley – is still touring today, they’ve come a long way since then. Ashley – who is dad to Rose, six, and Micah, five, with ex-wife Francesca Abbott – is a regular on our TV screens, while Jordan – who has children Cassius Ashley, seven, Mayowa ‘Mimi’ Angel, five, and Atreus Funso, two, with wife Naomi Courts – and Perri host their KISS Breakfast show. And now a new chapter begins for them, as the trio launch their new podcast, Brothers Uncovered, in which they play classic party game ‘Would You Rather?’…
How would you describe your new project in one sentence?
Perri: One solid sentence? I’d mess it up!
Jordan: Go on, Master [pointing to Ashley] – you’ve got a way with words
Ashley: OK, what about, ‘A few brothers, having chats about things that I’m sure you’ll all have an opinion on, wrapped up in a ‘Would You Rather’ every single time’?
After all these years of working together, do you ever get on each other’s nerves?
J: We’ve worked and done so much together, but we see this podcast as a massive breath of fresh air for us. It’s a platform where we can go and genuinely have a laugh, in our own time, being authentically ourselves.
P: And we won’t get out of breath doing this, which is quite nice.
How important has it been to have each other on this journey?
A: I don’t think any of us individually would have survived on our own.
J: Real talk.
A: I think the only reason we’re still here is because we did it as a squad.
Is there anything you can’t do together?
J: Be serious! If we have to be serious in a situation and all three of us are there, it’s game over.
What about living together?
J: I lived with Perri for about two months and, let me say this, every day I came home, the flat was clean, dinner was cooked, everything was tidy. If I had to pick one person to live with, I’d have to pick Perri. Let’s not forget, I lived with Ash for about 19 years and in that time, I'd come home and nothing was cooked, the place wasn’t clean and my stuff was stolen. So nine times out of 10 I'm going to pick Perri.
A: Yeah I’d pick Pel [Perri] too, because [Jordan], he’s just huge!
P: Can I pick myself, or what?
J: I’d pick myself I were you.
P: Then, yeah, I pick myself.
Jordan and Perri, you get to see each other every day in the week for your KISS Breakfast show…
P: We do, Jord picks me up every morning.
J: I pick him up at 4.15am every day, but he will always come out bang on 4.18am. I could get there at 4.20am and he’ll be outside waiting because 4.18am is Perri’s time. Late, but always consistent.
And you guys post a lot on TikTok – how do you have so much energy after a show?
P: I don’t always fancy it. Nah, I’m joking, it’s good fun! We end up leaving the show and doing some kind of weird challenge. We could be tasting chocolate, playing hide and seek or doing some sort of TikTok challenge. Those are the times when I look around, and I'm like, ‘We're paying our mortgage right now by eating chocolate.’ It's kind of nuts that we just do that.
A: You don't understand what it’s like from where I am. I’ll be at home or rehearsing, having a little scroll through TikTok, and all of a sudden I've seen a video with like 200,000 likes, and it’s Pel being a backpack.
Ashley and Jordan, you have five children between you. Do you feel any pressure to have kids, Perri?
P: No! Being an uncle is great.
J: Perri gets all the fun bits. He doesn’t have to come home and one of the kids has drawn on the walls. He’s my kids’ favourite person, but he mugs them off 24/7.
P: I know, I take the mick out of them all the time, but they love me!
What type of dad do you think Perri would be?
J: Perri would – annoyingly – be a very prepared and fun dad. He’s had the benefit of us walking a little blindly into it. I had my son and then eight months later, Ash had a daughter. We were the first to have kids in Diversity. Pel’s got us and so many other friends with kids, so he’s fully prepared and has all the hacks from us.
A: I think people look at me and expect me to be the strict dad and [Perri] to be the funny one, but I think it’s the other way around. I'm quite relaxed, but I reckon you’d be quite a strict dad, Pel.
P: If I could have kids – but without the mess – I think that would be great. But I can’t wait to be a dad one day. I’m quite jealous, because pretty much everyone in Diversity is a dad now. It’s amazing to see everyone change over the years and just be great parents. I’m a good plant dad, so I’m getting there...
What about marriage? You’re loved-up with your girlfriend Jessica…
P: Also, no.
J: That, I don’t believe! You and Jess love each other and know you’re going to be together forever. Let’s say, coincidentally, you guys went to Vegas or you went somewhere next year, and she said, ‘Should we just do it?’ I think you would.
P: Oh, absolutely. I’m excited about marriage, but that doesn’t mean I'm going to do it now.
What about you, Ashley, are you dating again after your divorce?
A: It’s the wild west out there, let’s just say that.
Would you trust these lot to help you?
A: Absolutely not.
P: Only dates females over 10ft… Erm, what else? Magical powers?
J: As long as her magical powers are that she can make our podcast go to No1 in two weeks.
A: Yeah, that’s what we need.
J: Anyone who meets that criteria – is 10ft tall and has magical powers – slide into the DMs…
Alright, nicely swerved…
A: See how this dynamic works?
P: We are each other’s shields.
Do you get good advice from each other?
J: Ash advised me to go on I’m A Celeb, actually. At the time, I hadn’t done much outside of Diversity. Plus, I was just… one of the members, Ash and Pel were the super-recognisable ones. For me, we’d sell out the O2, perform in front of 20,000 people, then I'd walk down the high street, and no one would ever recognise me unless they mistook me for Ash. I didn't want to do the show. I was a bit nervous about being out there and then the other part – the trials. But that was good advice from Ash, because since then, things have just gone from strength to strength in my career.
Would you ever do the jungle, Ashley and Perri?
A: No, not for me. Never. I just wouldn’t hack some of the trials. And no food in a camp, people sleeping on the floor with spiders? Nah, forget it.
J: Pel, you’d do it, right? You’d smash it.
P: I’d give it a go.
Is there any reality show you would do, Ashley?
J: Ooh, Celebrity Traitors?
A: Oh yeah, 100%. That, or Celebrity Big Brother.
J: Would you? I think that’s a tricky one.
A: Why? You’re in a house with people.
J: I think that’s the point. Being with people. I can’t lie, I think you’d struggle with that.
How would you feel about your kids following in your footsteps?
A: I'm not pushy at all about what they do. I want them to just be kids and have fun and whatever they lean towards, I’d definitely support them. My daughter’s really creative, but I’ll be real, if someone said to me that my little girl could be successful in the entertainment industry or successful out of it with the same financial security, then I’d say be out of it, 100%.
Fair enough…
A: I love our fans and supporters, and I love creating, but if we could do the job we do and remain anonymous, but do it in the same way, I would pick that every single day. It’s not all bad, I’ve had some beautiful moments, but I wouldn't wish it on my kids. But, at the same time, if their hobby and their passion took them there and they could inspire people and they loved what they did, just like we do, then, absolutely, go for it.
J: In terms of dancing, my kids inherited their mum’s rhythm, so I don’t see them following that path. My youngest is too young, so I don't know yet. My oldest son – Project Mbappe – he's my retirement plan. He’s seven now, I'm hoping he’s a star football] player by age 19. So I've got about 12 years left to work. And my daughter loves horse riding at the moment, so we’ll see.
What about your legacy as Diversity – and as individuals – what do you want that to be?
A: I think if we can do it, anyone can do it. On the surface it looks like bunch of cool dance moves or the fact that Pel does flips, but it's not really – it's about a crazy amount of sacrifice and dedication and sticking together as a team. We genuinely approach things as a clique, we always have each other's backs. Seriously [pretends to be sick], with teamwork, you can achieve more weirdly than if you're just doing it on your own. Teamwork makes the dream work! Just work hard. And if you do, the sky’s the limit.
J: Yeah, what he said!
P: Yeah, what Jord said!
Listen to Brothers Uncovered with Ashley Banjo, Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely