TikTok identical twins have gained more than 100 million views and 7 million followers with their dance moves

TikTok started as a social media app where people could share short-form videos of themselves dancing. In recent years, its popularity has exploded and people now share videos of themselves doing just about anything - including taking part in internet trends and challenges or sharing their views on a multitude of topics.

But, two idential twins have found that dancing is still very much the recipe to success on the site - in fact, they've gained more than 100 million views simply for showing off their dance moves in videos on their page.

Peter Odigie and brother Paul became stars in their home Nigeria after coming third in a national TV talent show with their unique, fun routines. After moving to the UK to attend university but then getting bored during lockdown, the pair began posting 20-second TikTok videos of them performing their dance moves - and one of them garnered 74 million alone. Their channel – The Odigie Brothers - now now has an audience of 7.4m subscribers with advertisers beating a path to their door to front national campaigns including M&S.

Peter, who works as a recruiter for Severn Trent, makes TikTok videos during his days off work. He said: “The TikTok success has been amazing - we just never expected the videos to go viral. We posted the first one to TikTok during lockdown and after three hours it had 80,000 views. They just took off from there. It’s such a great feeling to know so many people enjoy watching us doing what we’ve loved doing since we were children - dancing. We just want to put a smile of people’s faces.”

Peter and Paul are among seven siblings who grew up with their loving family in Nigeria and they have been dancing together from an early age. They later became coaches with a famous national Dance Academy troupe and enjoyed their first taste of fame when they came third on a top-rated TV show, Maltina Dance Hall season 8 in 2014. Yet despite their success, the brothers also prioritised education and attended university in Nigeria together, before both moving to Wolverhampton to complete Masters degrees.

Their father Jackson, a Christian church pastor, and mum Patricia are also now living in the UK – and starred with the boys in their most popular video, which has gained a phenomenal 74 million views. Peter said: “They always encouraged us with our dancing as children and are very supportive now. I think that’s what people love about that particular video – mum and dad just enjoying watching us dance.”

The twins make multiple short videos a week in their spare time, sometimes with guest appearances from other TikTok dance stars – including other identical twins from around the world. With their fame now rapidly spreading, Peter says fans often stop to chat with him on his way to and from work at Severn Trent Centre in Coventry.

He said: “I have to say, I love being recognised. It happens in the street, on the train or at work. People are lovely and just want to say how they have enjoyed our videos. On my very first day at Severn Trent someone said 'hey, I recognise you!’ My boss was pleased and that also helped make me settle in properly!”

Yet despite the social media fame, Peter is not moving full-time to TikTok. He has a key role at Severn Trent helping recruit new apprentices and interns, through its New Talent project. He said: “I love working for Severn Trent, the culture and support we get from teammates and managers is amazing. I’m using my social media skills to help Severn Trent find and attract talented young people to the company.”

The identical twins now also have an identical aim – getting to 10 million subscribers - but they don't want that at any cost. Peter said: “We don’t want to be famous at any costs, we want to do it in the right way. Our faith is very important to us and so are our ethics, so we are very careful about who we get involved with, in terms of advertising and our content.

“But our success has allowed us to invest in better filming equipment and we are also looking to develop our channel with some new ideas. But making money has never been the reason we do what we do. We just love dancing and making people happy.”