In a shock exit from Strictly earlier this month, AJ Pritchard now seems to have set his hopes on pursuing a career in presenting, alongside younger brother Curtis, 24. In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, AJ and Curtis revealed their next steps as they go into new career together – so what are they planning?
AJ revealed he and his brother have always wanted to work together, adding the dynamic relationship between British icons Ant and Dec is an “inspiration” to them
Asked if he hoped to follow in their footsteps, AJ told Express.co.uk: “Honestly, yes, they are an inspiration. But more to the point with Ant and Dec, it’s not just where they are now it’s also where they have come from.
“They have worked up from the bottom working very hard, and i think sometimes people forget that.”
“Like Ant and Dec, we have always been performing, we have always been working, we have always been together.
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AJ Pritchard: AJ and Curtis say Ant and Dec are an inspiration to them. (Image: GETTY)
AJ Pritchard: AJ and Curtis are set on going into a presenting career as brothers. (Image: Matt Crockett)
“That’s the kind of nice thing that people who haven’t seen it before say ‘omg you two are really good together’ and we are like ‘yeah’ because that’s what we have always done.
“It’s actually what we have been training to do since we were kids.”
Curtis said the brothers love for presenting started during their childhood, adding: “When you’re a kid you say ‘aww i wish my life would always be like this’, but how we were when we were younger is what we are doing now.
“We are just doing what we did as kids, having fun, being creative and loving life.”
AJ Pritchard: The pair are looking forward to presenting as brothers. (Image: Matt Crockett)
AJ added how nice it is to be able to present together as brothers, saying: “Being brothers we look at each other we know who is going to take the lead this time, and that really does make it so easy.
“It’s nice to be able to work with family, and i think that especially now it’s so nice to be able to be together.”
The duo went on to talk about how presenting has always been something they have both loved.
AJ said: “For us, we have always done it and we have loved it, and we know it works.
“When we started to do more presenting with Lorraine, whether that be hosting red carpets or when we did a really nice initiative which put a smile on peoples faces.
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“We went along and did some presenting, and we did some dancing with them, and doing that work we thought, actually we do really love doing it.”
AJ added a highlight within their career so far was when they both took part in Sports Relief.
He said: “A real highlight for myself actually that hit home was when we did Sports Relief.
“We did Sports Relief, and there was dancing, and it was raising money but more to the point it was working together like we used to.
AJ Pritchard: The pairs career highlights so far. (Image: GETTY)
“That kind of really brought it home for me, and it definitely put it out there that yes it’s the right decision, and I need to put it out there that I wasn’t just going to do Strictly again and that i was going to focus something as a career path that we love.”
Looking to the future, the pair said they would rather present on a new show instead of a show that is already on our screens.
AJ said: “I think when you see the TV shows that are out right now, the people that are doing their jobs are already amazing.
“But for us, it would be about creating our own TV show, whether that be a game show where you get the family involved and just have fun.
“When you are able to make a job that doesn’t feel like a job, it feels like you’re just having fun, that’s the best feeling ever.”
Curtis added: “We don’t want to be trying to be someone else. We want to be just us so that is why we would like to start fresh so that everyone can see us for us as we are.”
AJ and Curtis added they want to challenge themselves, with AJ saying: “We are definitely going into it with goals and ambitions because we are from a competitive background.
“So our ambitions are to really challenge ourselves, and i think if you go into any opportunity, you go in with the sky being the limit.”
However, the boys insist dancing will still be apart of their lives.
Curtis said: “Dancing is in our blood, it’s our passion we have literally been around it since we were kids from our father being an ex-champion and we will always have that in our lives until maybe the day we pass.”
AJ added: “It’s what has given us the confidence to really go and perform in front of thousands and millions of people, so its a skill we have trained all of our lives.
“We are never going to turn our back on something that has got us to where we are now, we know it might mean we will be presenting a dance show.”
AJ and Curtis Pritchard encourage the UK to #DressupDanceDonate and support the NHS. To donate visit: https://virg.in/
