Naga Munchetty reveals she hid her Asian heritage as a child to try and fit in

BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty has revealed that she has tried to ‘hide’ her Asian heritage in the past in a bid to fit in.

The presenter, 46, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, has admitted she tried to distance herself from her Asian background during her younger years. 

She told the BBC: ‘I know what it’s like to hide parts of my whole self, to play down my Asian heritage – it’s difficult to acknowledge that I’ve done it, and hard to admit. Since I was young, I felt I needed to, so that I fitted-in more easily.’

Naga discussed how she first encountered racism as a seven-year-old, with the experience sticking with her ever since.

‘I have experienced racism,’ she said. ‘You never forget the first time you hear that painful and distressing word. I was seven, when someone I thought was a friend at school, told me we could no longer hang out.

‘They used the p-word, making clear the reason was because of the colour of my skin. The sense of shame was overwhelming.

‘I was told I didn’t belong when up until then I assumed I did. From that moment I knew I was seen as different. That first hurt never goes away.’

Naga also revealed that her parents have experienced racism in the UK, saying: ‘I grew up in south London.

‘My dad was from Mauritius and my mum was from India. Both were nurses. They too received racial insults at work, including the p-word.’

And Naga can still vividly remember trying to hide her life at home from her classmates, as she said: ‘I remember being paranoid about smelling of the curries my mum cooked when I was at school.’

Since becoming a prominent face of BBC Breakfast, Naga has also spoken about the abuse she’s received online from viewers.

In 2016, Naga said she was ‘not there to be abused’ as she spoke out about the horrendous racial and sexist abuse she was bombarded with on Twitter.

She said she accepted that criticism is part of her role in the public eye but will always call out those who are simply abusive.

Previous tweets have claimed the award-winning journalist is only employed at the BBC for her ethnicity, but have also criticised her hair, glasses and even made distasteful sexual remarks.

She previously told the Daily Mirror: ‘I’m on telly, I’m in your home, so if you want to criticise me, fine. But I’m not there to be abused. Nobody is there to be abused.

‘You don’t abuse someone while they’re doing their job, and you don’t make racist, sexist or bigoted comments.

‘If someone says, “She did a bad job of that interview, I’ve come away and not understood anything”, I would go back and re-examine that interview. Racist and sexist stuff, I just think, “You’re an idiot.”‘ 

Naga is the second longest-serving member of the current presenting team, having joined the show in 2009, before becoming a main presenter in 2014.