Oti Mabuse returns to her childhood home to revisit the people and places that inspired her to be the dancer and woman she is today

In a one-off documentary special, Strictly Come Dancing star, Oti goes back to South Africa. Exploring her personal history of townships and hardship and a land of contradictions, diversity, and hope.

This project was cancelled due to Covid, but we persisted and eventually we got to make it. I was thrilled to collaborate with Oti, and to tell her personal story alongside an exploration of South Africa’s complicated history and the inequalities and racism still prevalent today.

This complicated project required meticulous pre-production. I was responsible for writing the script and thesis and travelling across South Africa and filming in multiple locations without prior recces. Creating an authentic, meaningful and engaging journey for Oti in her first ever documentary.

This documentary got a rave reception and reviews with pick of the day in most media,

‘Proof that TV has the power to educate like no other medium … by the end of My South Africa, viewers will have an understanding of the nation’s painful racial problems’. The Guardian

‘Wonderfully Moving’.The Daily Mail

‘Mabuse was an interesting tour guide for South Africa’. The Times