Hamza Yassin, winner of Strictly Come Dancing in 2022, has revealed he was blown away by his success on the show after coming from very humble beginnings. The 36-year-old, who won the Glitterball trophy with professional partner Jowita Przystal, could not believe how well he had done.
The Sudan-born star, whose new documentary Hamza: African Birds of Prey airs on BBC One tonight, lived a very different life before finding fame on television. The CBeebies host and wildlife cameraman stunned judges with his dancing despite being a novice.
From Northampton to remote Scotland
Aged 21, Hamza decided to pack his things and drive almost 500 miles to start a new life away from his home in Northampton, where he had lived since arriving from Sudan aged eight, speaking only four words of English. He began learning the language by watching David Attenborough's series The Life of Birds.
Moving to one of the most remote areas of Scotland 17 years later to study wildlife, Hamza ended up living in his car, washing his clothes at the local community centre and using the public toilets on the jetty. He did odd jobs for people in the villages where he was staying to fund his passion.
Dyslexia as a 'gift'
After pursuing his passion for birds, Hamza was selected for Strictly and ended up winning the show. He credited his performance to his 'super power', telling the Mirror he believes having dyslexia helped him. Describing the condition as 'a gift', the Countryfile star said it may help him remember the tricky sequences of steps during training.
Hamza explained: "I think in 3D, I think in pictures, I have a photographic memory and that is all due to my dyslexia. I truly believe my dyslexia is my gift and I am the man I am now because of it. If I can connect with one struggling kid who thinks he or she is not going to be anybody, if that kid can say, look at Hamza, he has dyslexia but he is living his dream, I'd be happy."
New documentary in Kenya
The star is now presenting a documentary in Kenya called Hamza: African Birds of Prey. The one-hour special from Silverback Films, the company behind Attenborough's Planet Earth III and Prehistoric Planet, sees the Strictly 2022 champion spend time in Africa filming raptors and the people working to protect them.
Speaking about his joy at making the documentary, he said: "I’m like a kid who’s just been shown their Christmas present!"
