Strictly's Hamza Yassin recalls being the 'only black man' in a 150 mile radius of home

express.co.uk:

Strictly Come Dancing star Hamza Yassin, whose parents brought him to the UK as a child so the family could escape the civil war in Sudan, initially lived in a bustling city.

However, a move to the UK's most westerly village at age 21 left him joking that he was the only black man for miles around.In spite of his self-enforced isolation in the tiny village of Kilchoan, Hamza quickly made friends with the population, with his next door neighbour, Gail, becoming his "Scottish sister".He also made himself indispensable by offering to chop wood and do tasks for locals in return for money, which soon ended a months-long spell of sleeping in his car."I’m the only black person in probably 150 miles but it didn’t feel like that," he explained.His upbringing in Sudan meant that there were also some cultural differences between himself and others from as early as childhood - but he never felt a negative sense of otherness."I knew I was different because I did things differently," he mused."[For example], I would stand up as a teacher walked into the classroom, and everyone would be looking at me - but that’s what we did in Sudan."As soon as the teacher [came] in, or someone of authority, we’d stand up," he told the Guardian.Hamza also recalled being as curious about the new people that surrounded him as they were about him, and was "perplexed" to see a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes for the first time."I've never seen anything like that," he exclaimed, before going on to become good friends with him.After he grew up, he embarked on a journey that was to take him away from mainland Britain altogether to pursue his wildlife photography dreams.Hamza, who was a keen birdwatcher from his childhood years onwards, wanted to.