TV presenter Ore Oduba has revealed he was left in tears after being scammed by someone he thought was one of his heroes – and has warned fans that “it can happen to anyone”
TV presenter, consumer journalist and Strictly celeb Ore Oduba has confessed to being duped by a scammer posing as one of his idols.
Despite once educating viewers on how to dodge scams on the BBC programme Claimed and Shamed, Oduba found himself making a tearful confession after falling for a scammer impersonating life coach and author Mel Robbins. Oduba, 39, posted a six-minute video on Instagram revealing that he was targeted by fraudsters after expressing his admiration for Robbins, who boasts 20 million followers due to her transformative theories, including her book The Let Them Theory.
The scam unfolded after Oduba appeared on ITV’s Loose Women, where he professed his fondness for Mel Robbins, and subsequently took to social media. He explained: “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 continued: “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.”, reports the Mirror.
Oduba was moved to tears when he was invited to appear on Robbins’ podcast, one of the top 15 in the USA. He recalled: ” 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 continued: “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.”
Upon regaining his composure, Oduba noticed that the email had come from a Gmail account and that Mel Robbins’ name had been misspelled. He reached out to the Mel Robbins PR team via her official website and discovered the invitation was a hoax.
In an Instagram post, he confessed: ” 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 concluded: “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 popular British television and radio presenter, actor, and stage performer who first rose to fame as the presenter of CBBC’s Newsround between 2008 and 2013. He went on to present various shows including The One Show, This Morning, ITV’s game show Hardball, and BBC’s charity specials like And They’re Off! for Sport Relief.
His breakthrough moment came in 2016 when he won the 14th series of Strictly Come Dancing, earning both critical acclaim and mass affection. Following his victory, he took on further public-facing roles, including guest presenting on BBC Radio 2, hosting the Strictly Live Tour, and performing at high-profile events like the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Beyond his broadcasting career, Ore has also made a name for himself in the world of stage acting. His credits include starring roles in musicals such as Grease (UK tour), Curtains (West End debut in January 2020), Pretty Woman (UK and Ireland tour), and The Rocky Horror Show.
He made his screen acting debut in the BBC drama Noughts + Crosses and demonstrated his physical and mental toughness by reaching the finals of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2021.
Mel Robbins is a multifaceted American personality – an author, former criminal defense attorney, motivational speaker, podcast host, and former CNN legal analyst. Her first book, Stop Saying You’re Fine, was published in 2010.
Her TEDx talk “How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over” in 2011 introduced her signature “5‐Second Rule”, a technique designed to overcome hesitation and prompt action, which has garnered tens of millions of views.
In her book The Let Them Theory, Mel teaches people to focus on what they can control. She is also the host of The Mel Robbins Podcast, launched in 2022, which consistently ranks among the top global podcasts, with over 187 million downloads to date.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
