Strictly’s Motsi Mabuse opens up on ‘tough moments’ as new series returns
Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse has revealed the "tough moments" she had growing up in South Africa.
The dancing pro opened up about the hardest aspects of her childhood during a chat on BBC's The One Show on Tuesday night (September 6).
It comes just days before Strictly returns to screens for its twentieth series on September 17 – with Motsi reuniting with Anton du Beke, Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood on the panel.
Motsi grew up in South Africa in the 1980s before she moved to Germany, where she shot to fame on Let's Dance, the German version of Strictly.
The BBC judge said that even as a child, she understood something was not right in her country, given the apartheid government and rife discrimination black people had to endure at the time.
The TV star explained her parents tried "very hard" to keep her safe, but that she knew people would have certain 'opinions' of her simply because she was black.
Motsi said: "It's quite common knowledge that we had an apartheid government at the times when I was a little girl, so there were some tough moments growing up in a situation like that in South Africa.
"We as children understood that something was not okay in the country. Our parents tried very hard to keep us safe, to take away from the discrimination happening."
She continued: "As they did that, they put us in very good schools to try to push us to have some freedom and education, but at the same time we were confronted with the conflict every single day of the year, and knowing that you're black and somebody looks at you and has an opinion about you."
The star, who is about to release her new biography, added: "I wanted to shed the light of how that affects you up until today and with all of that going, how you can also push through and do your thing. I think that is a very important message from me."
This is a live TV story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly for the latest news, pictures and video.
You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest TV stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our soaps and Hot TV newsletters .
Get all the very best news, pictures, opinion and video on your favourite TV shows by following Daily Star every time you see our name.
Follow Daily Star on Google News – CLICK HERE and click the star
Follow Daily Star on Apple News – CLICK HERE available on Apple devices
Follow Daily Star on Flipboard – CLICK HERE and click follow
You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @starbreaksnews and follow us @dailystar for all the latest updates.
Keep up-to-date with your must-see TV stories, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/DailyStarShowbiz
Source: Read Full Article