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Trisha Goddard tearfully recalls 'pretending to be white' as a child

Trisha Goddard has opened up on the racism she’s faced in her life and how as a young girl she would put talcum powder on her face and “pretend to be white”.

The presenter was on Good Morning Britain to speak on her mother Agnes' experiences of coming to the UK in 1955 as Monday marked the 72nd anniversary of the arrival of Caribbean migrants on the SS Empire Windrush to the UK.

Goddard, 62, became tearful as she discussed the hard work her mother, who hailed from the West Indies, put in in order to send the TV host and her sister to school.

Read more: Leigh Francis apologises for portraying black people

"In many ways, I miss her and just talking about her makes me very emotional and in some ways I am glad she is not here to see…I would be telling her about some of the racial abuse I have been getting.

Trisha Goddard attends the National Television Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena on January 28, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Trisha Goddard attends the National Television Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena on January 28, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

“I remember when I was a little girl, I used to get talcum powder and mix it with water and put it on my face and pretend to be white," Goddard tearfully recalled.

She added that it would have "broken" her parents' spirits to witness the Windrush scandal which saw people from Commonwealth countries wrongly told they were in Britain illegally.

The mother-of-two paid tribute to her mother on her Instagram page on Monday as she urged children to be taught “the real history of Britain”.

Last week, the host shared that she been subjected to "even more vile abuse" in the wake of Leigh Francis' apology for portraying black celebrities, including Goddard, on Bo' Selecta!.

It came after she’d spoke on how her children had been bullied at school over their mother’s portrayal on the Channel 4 show.