Ashley Banjo

Ashley Modurotolu Banjo was born on October 4, 1988, in Leytonstone, London, England. His father, Funso, was a professional boxer, and his mother, Danielle, was a professional dancer. He grew up in Essex and received his education at St John’s School, Billericay, where he also held the position of Head Boy. Banjo initiated his dancing career at a young age, developing routines independently from the age of 14. In 2007, he co-founded the street dance troupe Swift Moves with his younger brother Jordan and nine friends. This group later became known as Diversity. Within their first year, Diversity achieved recognition by winning the Street Dance Weekend 2007 competition, setting the stage for their breakthrough into mainstream media. This early success solidified Banjo’s commitment to dance and performance.

Diversity’s prominence escalated significantly in 2009 when they entered the third season of Britain’s Got Talent. After impressing judges in their audition, they advanced through the semi-finals, ultimately winning the competition against Susan Boyle and Julian Smith. This victory brought Diversity national attention and a performance opportunity for Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Variety Show in December 2009. The group also received the ‘Families United Positive Role Models’ award at the ‘Spirit of London’ ceremony and an award at the Pride of Britain Awards. Following their success on Britain’s Got Talent, Banjo took a temporary break from his education to focus entirely on his dancing career, choreographing tours for Diversity, including the “Limitless” tour in 2013.

Beyond his work with Diversity, Ashley Banjo has established himself as a notable television personality. He served as a judge on Sky1’s dance talent show Got to Dance for all five series (2009–2014) and later on ITV’s Dance Dance Dance in 2017. Since January 2018, Banjo has been a consistent judge on Dancing on Ice, contributing to its tenth series and subsequent seasons through to 2025. In 2020, he briefly replaced Simon Cowell as a guest judge on Britain’s Got Talent for the live semi-final and final shows of its 14th series. Banjo’s television career also includes co-presenting Can’t Touch This for BBC One in 2016 and presenting shows such as Perspectives: Michael Jackson’s Thriller with Ashley Banjo and Ashley Banjo: Britain in Black and White. In 2021, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to dance.