JB Gill shot to fame on X Factor in 2008 as one-third of the beloved boy band JLS.
But although he is commanding the spotlight once more on Strictly Come Dancing alongside pro partner Amy Dowden, the 36-year-old maintains that 'family man' is, in fact, his most important role. JB lives on a farm in Sevenoaks, Kent, with his wife Chloe and two kids - and this is the centre of his world.
"Family is everything to me," he recently told the BBC. "Chiara has already made cards and little tokens for me to put in my dressing room for the live shows and then my wife will be there every single week for as long as I’m in it."
But who is the Gill family? Here is everything you need to know...
Who is JB Gill's wife Chloe?
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jbgill/Instagram)JB met wife Chloe when she was working as a back up dancer for JLS, and they instantly hit it off. They couple married in 2014 on the Isle of Bute in Scotland. Chloe has been dancing since the age of three, and professionally since she was 18, so JB has been seeking advice from his wife of 10 years while on Strictly.
Speaking to the Mail Online ahead of the contest starting, JB admitted: "To be honest, I probably have the best wife that you could have, for any contestant doing this show, because she comes from that world.
"And although she wasn't a ballroom dancer, we both understand what goes into it. We know that it's not easy and it's going to be difficult. She gets it, she's been on tours herself. She's obviously had to partner with other people, that's just part of the world. So she's very excited for me. "
Who are JB Gill's kids?
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jbgill/Instagram)JB and Chloe have two children together - Ace, nine, and Chiara, five - and the couple's showbiz talents has definitely been passed down in their genes. Young Ace has starred in BBC drama Chloe in 2022, and because of Chiara’s big personality she was also cast in the show.
JB said: "Ace was doing a self-tape and Chiara was like: 'I need to do it as well.' She just sat in the background, playing with her toys, and we had to send it because we didn't have another one. The production team saw it and were like: 'She's amazing. Can we have her, too?'"
Ace also appeared in hit Grantchester in 2014, and is signed up to a model agency. But if that wasn’t enough the nine-year-old is also a footy player, and is currently an U10 academy player at Tottenham Hotspur Academy. And while that is every boy’s dream it does stop him watching his dad live on Strictly. JB told the BBC: “Ace wants to watch all the shows live but he has football the following morning so we’ll watch with the kids after football on Sunday.”
Why does JB Gill and his family live on a farm?
As mentioned, JB Gill lives on a 13-acre farm in Sevenoaks, Kent, which is a far cry from the glitz and glamour of ballroom dancing. However, ahead of the show the game dancer told the BBC:" "From muddy wellies on the fields of my farm to sequins and Glitterballs - I’m here to embrace it all!"
While the singer was born in Croydon, South London, he explained the Farmer's Guardian that spending time in Antigua as a child formed his love of nature and farming. "I grew up in the city, but I was lucky that I did have access [to the outdoors] and my parents very much felt it was important," he says.
"My formative years were spent in the Caribbean and there is definitely that proximity to where your food comes from and more of a rural lifestyle through that island mentality."
The family's farm produces award winning KellyBronze turkeys and free-range Tamworth pork, and JB has also opened the doors of the farm for television, and enabled him to host CBBC show Down On The Farm.
JB previously explained that he wanted to move to a farm for his kids. "I’d often heard it said that growing up on a farm is second to none," he said. “It was one of the reasons why I wanted my own young family to establish our roots in the countryside, despite having spent most of my life living in a city.”
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