Latest news with #Oduba
Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Presenter and actor Ore Oduba breaks down in tears after falling for scam
He was contacted by what he thought was the woman who had changed his life Presenter, consumer journalist and Strictly star Ore Oduba has revealed that he fell victim to a scam after being contacted by someone he thought was one of his heroes. Oduba, who once taught people how to avoid scams on BBC show Claimed and Shamed, has shared a tearful admission after believing he had been contacted by life coach and author Mel Robbins. Oduba, 39, has shared a six-minute video on Instagram saying scammers targeted him after he shared his passion for Robbins, who has 20million followers thanks to her life-changing theories - including the book The Let Them Theory. The scam came after Oduba had appeared on ITV's Loose Women and shared his love of Mel Robbins, then took to social media. He said: "I reposted that interview, I tagged the Mel Robbins podcast, tagged the Let Me theory, tagged Mel, tagged everybody who cared, and then I got an email from my agent who forwarded on an email from the team at the Mel Robbins podcast. I could have cried - they knew who I was! I got an email from the Mel Robbins podcast team." He added: "I told Mel everything. How she had changed my life. And I literally said at the end of the email, even for you to know who I am, is everything. Thank you so much for getting in touch." Oduba broke down in tears as he said he was then invited onto the Robbins' podcast - one of the biggest 15 in the USA. He said: " I'm reading this back and I know exactly how it made me feel at the time. I wrote back and I said, 'Mel, I'm holding back tears. Is this for real? You must have AI helping you correspond with all of these fans.' "Mel wrote back, "of course it's me - it's Mel Robbins." So then I lost my s**t, I absolutely lost my s**t, in tears on an Avanti West Coast train from Birmingham to London, thinking that my whole life was about to change." He added: "By the way, I used to host a show about scammers. I have watched enough Watchdog to last a lifetime - that doesn't stop me being in the middle of it. I never thought I'd be the person that would be scammed." When he calmed down, Oduba realised the email had come from a Gmail address - and Mel Robbins name had been spelled incorrectly. He contacted the Mel Robbins PR team via her official website, and was fake. He wrote on the Instgram post: " I'm ashamed, I'm embarrassed and I'm human. Did not think I would be the kind of person who could be scammed, but this proves it really can happen to anyone. Especially with the help and manipulation of AI . I'm terrified how easily I was 'hooked'. It was SO convincing, it's scary." He added: "I've made no secret of how much Mel Robbins, her book and podcast have helped me through a really difficult period. "Truth is I turned an emotional blind eye to something I so deeply wanted to believe was for me and nearly got myself into a whole heap of trouble (sidenote.. I've realised in making this video how often we do the same thing in relationships too!) "Listen to your gut, it's most likely telling you the truth. And don't get scammed, it's no fun. "Still inspired by and love Mel Robbins and so grateful to them for their swift response. I got lucky - it could so easily have been too late." Ore Oduba is a prominent British TV and radio presenter, actor, and stage performer. He first rose to national attention as the presenter of CBBC's Newsround from 2008 to 2013 and later went on to host shows like The One Show, This Morning, ITV 's game show Hardball, and BBC's charity specials including And They're Off! for Sport Relief. His big breakthrough came in 2016, when he won the 14th series of Strictly Come Dancing, earning both critical acclaim and mass affection. That victory launched him into further public-facing roles—from guest presenting on BBC Radio 2 to hosting the Strictly Live Tour to performing at events like the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Beyond broadcasting, Ore is also an accomplished stage actor. Since 2019, he's been in musicals like Grease (UK tour), Curtains (West End debut in January 2020), Pretty Woman (UK & Ireland tour), and roles in The Rocky Horror Show. His screen acting debut was in the BBC drama Noughts + Crosses, and he made it through to the finals of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2021. Mel Robbins is an American author, former criminal defense attorney, motivational speaker, podcast host, and former CNN legal analyst. She released her first book, Stop Saying You're Fine, in 2010. In 2011, her TEDx talk 'How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over' introduced her signature '5‑Second Rule' technique—a tool designed to break hesitation and prompt action—amassing tens of millions of views. Her book The Let Them Theory taught people to focus on what they can control. She is Host of The Mel Robbins Podcast, launched in 2022, which consistently ranks among the top global podcasts with over 187 million downloads.
Metro
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Strictly Come Dancing winner breaks down in tears after being duped by scam
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Strictly Come Dancing star Ore Oduba said he 'feels like a fool' as he emotionally recounted his close-call scamming experience in a bid to help others. The 39-year-old TV presenter took to Instagram with a six-minute video to his followers explaining how his dream podcast invite quickly turned into a nightmare after he realised it was fake. Oduba started the video explaining that he has been a long-time fan of acclaimed self-help author Mel Robbins, the writer of the bestselling book The Let Them Theory, and even attributed it with changing his life. After discussing the impact the Robbins has had on his life on Loose Women, he reposted the interview on his social media, tagging Robbins (who also hosts a hugely popular podcast) in the post. Soon after, Oduba received an email from someone alleging to be from the motivational guru (and her team) thanking him for his words and asking him to share more about how the theory had changed his life, Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. 'I could have cried,' Oduba told his followers. He continued: 'Had I been wise enough, I would have seen there were a couple of things that were a little bit off. A week later, he was invited as a guest on her podcast. Recounting what it meant to receive this invitation, he started to become visibly emotional. 'Do you even know what it means? It just felt very powerful to have got that message at that time. And it's terrible because I'm reading this back and I know exactly how it made me feel at the time,' he said through tears. 'I absolutely lost my s**t in tears on an Avanti West Coast train from Birmingham to London, thinking that my whole life was about to change,' he added, admitting that he went on to share more personal stories on the email chain. After being asked by the person over email to keep this between the two of them, Oduba grew suspicious and started to notice discrepancies such as Mel being spelt 'Mell' and a Chat GPT style tone to the correspondence. It was then he discovered a section on Mel Robbins' official website where you could check if you were being scammed by someone claiming to be someone from her podcast – after which it confirmed he was a victim of this scam. The media personality reminded his followers that he used to host a programme about scammers, BBC's Claimed and Shamed, and that he has 'watched enough Watchdog to last a lifetime'. 'That doesn't stop me from being in the middle of it. I never thought I would be a person that would be scammed,' he added as he expressed his concern at how easy it is for 'more vulnerable' people to dig themselves into holes they can't get out of. 'I just feel like such an idiot. Let it be a lesson that, unfortunately, while Mel and her team are wonderful and doing incredible things there are a whole bunch of people trying to make all of us into absolute mugs. 'I feel like a fool. I got scammed by a fake Mel Robbins,' he concluded. People have shared their sympathy in the comments. Fellow presenter Sean Fletcher commented: 'So sorry to hear this Ore. I was excited and then so gutted for you listening to this. Important to share your story. Hope you're ok.' Amandakbarnfield, echoed: 'Huge props for sharing this – it will hugely help so many people.' 'Very brave to have shared this and very noble to have done so to warn others. That's the biggest takeaway from this,' yviemck1978 agreed. More Trending Last year, Oduba, who rose to fame on Newsround, spoke about the pitfalls of his decision to step back from presenting and focus on his musical theatre career. There was one point at the end of last year where he had no work lined up for the whole of 2025 until he finally secured a role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (which happened earlier this year). He told the Sun: 'Up until that point, I was basically unemployed for all of 2025. It's just quite terrifying. It's the self-employed life. View More » 'Especially when contracts can be quite long periods. And if you're holding out for something and you haven't got that big chunk taken up, it just looks really freaking empty. So, we've gotten very fortunate to have panto.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: All stars rumoured for Strictly 2025 line-up, including The Traitors winner MORE: Bobby Brazier says brother Freddy needs to 'grow up' amid family feud MORE: Strictly stars support Dianne Buswell following death of her beloved 'pop' aged 99
