As a prize-winning performer of 30 years standing, and a former star of German television, Motsi Mabuse’s credentials could not have been more impressive when she was chosen to become a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.

The South African-born dancer is, however, fed up that people define her by her skin colour.

‘What I really dislike is when people are, like, “She got the gig on Strictly because she’s black,”‘ Mabuse says.

‘It takes away from my experience, and it takes away my quality, and it takes away everything that I’ve been through and marched on through to be there.

‘You just see the label, “Oh, she’s black”, or, “She’s the first Strictly black judge”.

Motsi Mabuse’s credentials could not have been more impressive when she was chosen to become a judge on Strictly Come Dancing

Mabuse is married to Ukrainian dancer Evgenij Voznyuk, 39, with whom she runs a dance school near Frankfurt, and their inter-racial union comes with stereotyping

‘It takes away 15 years of experience as a judge and it takes away 30 years of my experience as a dancer.’

Mabuse, 42, took over from Dame Darcey Bussell on the judging panel of the hit BBC dance show in 2019.

Speaking on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, she adds: ‘Don’t forget they are qualified and bring talent to be in that space — otherwise you wouldn’t be there or have other accolades.’

Mabuse is married to Ukrainian dancer Evgenij Voznyuk, 39, with whom she runs a dance school near Frankfurt, and their inter-racial union comes with stereotyping.

‘When I travel with my husband and we go on a plane, he’ll get through and then I come, and they’ll stop me and say, “Passport”, because they don’t figure out we’re together.

‘So I ask, why are they asking for my passport and not his? What’s the difference? That’s someone judging you for your skin colour.’

Mabuse’s comments follow the row over Fiona Bruce’s remarks on Question Time. She apologised after referring to an audience member as a ‘black guy’.

The BBC newsreader, 59, said that she usually identifies people by what they’re wearing.

Hugh Hudson grew up in extraordinary circumstances, with his father disinherited, stripped of the family’s 3,500-acre estate on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border and reduced to working on a farm.

It left Hudson, later to direct the Oscar-winning Chariots Of Fire, with a hatred of the class system. His father’s only crime had been to marry a woman who then had an affair with her father-in-law.

Eton-educated Hudson, who died in February aged 86 debuted as a feature director with the Oscar-winning Olympics drama Chariots of Fire

Eton-educated Hudson, who died in February aged 86, was evidently determined no such cruelty would befall his second wife, former Bond girl Maryam d’Abo, or Thomas, his son by his first marriage. They were the sole beneficiaries of his newly published £9 million will.

She has become one of the world’s leading campaigners for education since she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in her native Pakistan in 2012, but Malala Yousafzai doesn’t take herself too seriously. And she’s a fan of racy Netflix drama Bridgerton.

So the Oxford graduate, 26, who became the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate in 2014, was delighted to meet actress Phoebe Dynevor, 28, aka Daphne Bridgerton, at Mayfair private members’ club Annabel’s.

Oxford graduate Malala Yousafzai, 26, was delighted to meet actress Phoebe Dynevor, 28, aka Daphne Bridgerton, at Mayfair private members’ club Annabel’s

The pair were at an event hosted by the Caring Family Foundation to celebrate International Day Of The Girl and raise money for the Malala Fund, her charity promoting female education.

Malala wore an embroidered salwar kameez and white high heels, while Dynevor cut a striking figure in a £1,000 bright red Gabriela Hearst shirt and matching trousers costing £807.

Fancy being in charge of a palace? A job is being advertised to be the Head of Palace of Holyroodhouse, King Charles’s official Scottish residence.

‘The palace is used by the King and Queen, and other members of the Royal Family for State, official and private functions,’ explains the advert on the royal website.

The successful candidate will be paid £70,000 a year. As well as catering for members of the Royal Family, the palace in Edinburgh is also a major tourist attraction.

Covering ten acres, it has 289 rooms, as well as 387 windows and 51 clocks. It employs more than 100 staff.