AJ Odudu says she was left feeling like she was the 'wrong sex, colour and class' when she struggled to break into the TV industry.
While the 34-year-old has now cemented herself as one of the UK's top TV hosts, things were not so rosy for her when she started out.
After a modest upbringing in a working class family in Blackburn, where her mum Florence was a cleaner at a grammar school and her dad James was a bus conductor, AJ saw her reputation skyrocket after her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021.
She was paired on the show alongside professional dancer Kai Widdrington and together they were one of the favourites to win the 2021 competition.
However, AJ and Kai's hopes were crushed when she suffered a serious injury to the spring ligament in her foot which ruled her out of the Strictly final, which was subsequently won by Eastenders star Rose Ayling-Ellis.
Speaking to the Daily Mail Weekend magazine, AJ said: "It’s not that I thought I would win, because I didn’t, but I was just gutted because I knew we would have put on a great show.
"I remember saying, 'I’m so upset, guys,' while crying my eyes out and thinking, 'My foot really hurts here, but not as much as my heart does.'"
AJ and her seven siblings were encouraged to "seize the opportunities that our parents didn’t have" when she was growing up, although she struggled initially to break into the TV industry.
She said she felt "people like her" didn't get jobs in TV and adds that she was also told to lose her thick Blackburn accent early in her career, which she refused.
AJ opened up about the racism she endured as a child, which still, unfortunately, is an issue today.
She added: "There is so much that’s wrong with how I’ve been treated in the past and how I continue to be treated. But you have to pick your battles.
"I can protect my happiness, but also stand up for what I believe is unjust. That’s what I’m trying to strike the balance between."
Before her Strictly stint, Odudu's presenting career only consisted of programmes targeting the younger demographic and spin-off shows such as Big Brother's Bit on the Side and The Voice UK, the latter as a backstage presenter.
But she has since gone on to host shows such as Comic Relief with Vernon Kay, be the spokesperson for UK at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 and more recently during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.
Meanwhile, TV fans are soon to get to see a lot more of AJ as she will be helping wake up the nation in a rebooted version of The Big Breakfast.
The star, alongside comedian Mo Gilligan, will be on the air over the month of August as the mad-cap early morning entertainment show is set to return to screens following a successful one-off airing last year.
Speaking about the show last month, AJ said: "There really is nothing like The Big Breakfast on our screens. I loved hosting it last year and I am looking forward to being back at the house to kick off summer weekends on this now award-winning show."
Mo added: “I love being part of this incredible history-making show. The whole team are so spectacular, and I have so much fun working with AJ – she’s one of the best in the business. And now a live summer series? Let’s go!"
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