Oti Mabuse, TV presenter and Strictly Come Dancing regular, has landed a BBC One special called Oti’s South African Odyssey, to be aired later this year and we can’t wait to see it.
In recent months, it’s refreshing to see a trickle of documentaries based on the experiences of more diverse celebrities, after a decades long steady diet of middle-class white men taking us around the world.
Career-wise, there’s no denying that 2019 was a fantastic year for Oti Mabuse. Some of her highlights include being a dance captain on the popular BBC show, The Greatest Dancer with an act finishing in first place. She also guest hosted The One Show, charming the nation with her bubbly, friendly style and starred on Celebrity Gogglebox. She crowned off a stellar year winning the 2019 version of Strictly Come Dancing with Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher. Not bad for someone who took up ballroom and Latin dancing at the age of four!
“I can’t wait to show the viewers where I grew up and take them on the journey that got me to where I am today.”
The documentary will see Oti going back to her country of birth to show us her South Africa, eight years after she left. It is a country that she feels is often misunderstood and she is looking forward to showing us a land of beauty, diversity, and hope.
Oti will travel across the country starting at the nostalgic and familiar landscape of her childhood in Mabopane near Pretoria. She will follow roads she has travelled with her family, meet old and new friends, and complete a road trip full of surprises.
Oti Mabuse, says: “To be asked by the BBC to do my very own documentary about something that is so close to my heart is an absolute privilege and I am deeply humbled. I can’t wait to show the viewers where I grew up and take them on the journey that got me to where I am today. I truly hope they love South Africa like I do.”
