Tyler West has said that he will be ignoring the racist trolls who have already sent him nasty messages since being announced as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
The radio presenter, 26, is among the line-up on the new series of the dance competition. He's best known for fronting a show on weekday afternoons for Kiss FM.
Ahead of this year's Strictly launching later this week, he's opened up about being targeted by racist trolls. He's said that he will be ignoring such messages on social media.
Speaking about it, he said: "I've grown up on a racist estate so it doesn't bother me." Tyler instead hopes to provide motivation for viewers who may feel represented by him.
He said: "If another kid can look at us and go, 'he's got locks, he's Jamaican, and he's on screen' then it's motivational." Tyler said there was a lack of such representation when he was younger.
"Growing up, I'd rarely look at TV and see someone that looks like me, sounds like me or is from my area. So that just means the world," he commented about such.
He said that a young viewer feeling empowered by his involvement would make his participation a success, even if he doesn't win. "I've already won [in that scenario]," he said.
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Tyler is best known for presenting weekday afternoons on Kiss FM, having joined the station in 2019. He began his career on CBBC shows like Blue Peter and later worked for MTV News.
His other projects have included presenting the Celebrity Ex on the Beach podcast and co-hosting interior design show Flat Out Fabulous. He also fronted The MTV Movie Show.
He has expressed excitement at taking part in Strictly, saying that it will be a "crazy, incredible journey". Tyler said that it's out of his comfort zone but he couldn't wait to get dancing.
The launch of the new series had been due to air earlier this month but it was postponed. It came in response to the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II on September 8.
It will now be broadcast on Friday night (September 23). BBC viewers will see which professional dancer each celebrity has been paired up with in the episode.
The pre-recorded launch will be followed by the first live show of the new series on Saturday (September 24). It will feature the debut dance routines of the couples.
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