TRISHA'S PAIN
Trisha Goddard breaks down in tears as she remembers ‘covering her face with talcum powder to look white’ as a child
TRISHA Goddard broke down in tears as she remembered "covering her face with talcum powder to look white" as a child.
The 62-year-old star was on Good Morning Britain with Lorraine Kelly earlier today to talk about her mother, Agnes Fortune, who came to the UK as part of the Windrush generation.
Agnes sadly passed away in 2004, and Trisha broke down as she told Lorraine that part of her was "glad" her mum was not around to see ongoing racism across the globe.
Her voice audibly cracking while she spoke, Trisha said: "I miss her, just talking about her makes me very emotional... But in some ways I'm actually glad she's no there to see."
The TV star then started to cry, apologising to Lorraine as she explained: "Some of the racial abuse I have been getting... I remember when I was a little girl, I used to get talcum powder and mix it with water.
"I'd put it on my face and pretend to be white."
Lorraine admitted that she found the interview "heartbreaking", with Trisha fighting back tears for the remainder of the chat.
Trisha, who is mum to 30-year-old Billie and 27-year-old Madison, recently revealed that her daughters were bullied due to comic Leigh Francis' impersonation of her on his Bo' Selecta show between 2002 and 2004.
Leigh wore rubber masks to mock a host of celebs - including other black stars such as Craig David and Mel B.
Trisha contacted Leigh when the show first aired, but felt she was unable to speak publicly about it because she feared it would damage her career.
However, Leigh apologised after Trisha angrily accused him of hypocrisy when he joined in last month's Blackout Tuesday, a social media campaign for Black Lives Matter.
Trisha said the Bo’ Selecta star - also known as Keith Lemon - took her concerns seriously and even spoke to her daughter to hear her experiences of being bullied as a result of his show.
However, Trisha revealed last week that the horrific comments and abuse has started up again as a result of her calling out the TV star.
She said: "I don't mind people joking about me, but it was the big lips the big nose of the character, and a lot of people said 'why didn't you say anything then', assuming I didn't.
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Trisha Goddard says she's been targeted with even MORE vile abuse since Leigh Francis apologised for Bo Selecta 'racism'
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"The other thing is people are saying 'lighten up it's a joke' but if he portrayed Vanessa Feltz, a proud Jewish presenter, with a big nose, or Gok Wan working in a Chinese takeaway, they are all abhorrent, and I didn't realise until very recently how badly bullied my children were.
"Since Leigh made that apology I have been subjected to even more abuse.
"(People saying) You've ruined his career just because you can't take a joke, and there have been threats."
Leigh, 47, sent a private apology to Trisha last month and in an emotional Instagram video added to fans: "I didn’t realise how offensive it was.
"I just want to say sorry for any upset I caused whether I was Michael Jackson, Craig David, Trisha Goddard."
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