Floella Benjamin

2022 - 10 - 29

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Image courtesy of "Daily Express"

Saturday Kitchen star breaks down in tribute to kids TV legend ... (Daily Express)

Saturday Kitchen star Andi Oliver couldn't hold back the tears as she opened up on the impact children's TV icon Floella Benjamin had on her life.

“I was one of the first people to walk around with my hair in plaits and beads, in fact, I used to be laughed at. Edmunds and nobody looked like me and then there was you", before welling up. The TV chef reflected on the importance of Floella Benjamin's influence on her growing up. After the revelation, Olly explained: "You have to write literally everything that is on the screen, everything they do, when they move, all of the emotions. The TV chef had predicted the tears, saying: "I knew I was going to cry", before wine expert Olly Smith gave her a hug. She told her: "I just want to say, Floella, that I noticed that you were on there and I noticed there were black people on screen.

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Image courtesy of "MyLondon"

Saturday Kitchen viewers beg BBC for guest to be given more ... (MyLondon)

The weekend cooking programme welcomed Baroness Floella Benjamin, Scott Mills and Olly Smith to the BBC centurion special as a host of chefs rustled up dishes ...

A fifth admired: "It was lovely seeing you on Saturday Kitchen Yes, Floella is the sunshine we all need everyday." A third said: "Floella Benjamin is being wonderful on Saturday Kitchen this morning.....I loved Playschool as a kid." Another added: "Floella Benjamin on Saturday Kitchen!

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Image courtesy of "Metro"

Tearful Andi Oliver tells Dame Floella Benjamin impact she had on her (Metro)

Andi Oliver teared up as she told Dame Floella Benjamin the impact of seeing someone who looked like her on TV when she was growing up.

‘I knew I was going to cry. ‘What I tried to do on the programme was to make children of all colours feel as though they were part of the programme, that they belonged,’ she said. Speaking about the significance of presenting that progamme during that time, Dame Floella recalled that she ‘used to be laughed at’ for wearing her hair in plaits and beads. ‘I just want to say that I noticed that you were on there and I noticed there were Black people on the screen and it meant everything to me,’ she said as she teared up. She continued, speaking about her childhood in the 1960s as she said: ‘I was a little kid in Bury St Edmunds and nobody looked like me on TV – and then there was you.’ [Andi Oliver](https://metro.co.uk/2021/06/28/great-british-menu-star-scarred-by-enid-blyton-books-in-racism-row-14838796/) became emotional while telling [Dame Floella Benjamin](https://metro.co.uk/2022/06/24/david-bowie-and-his-wife-angie-tried-to-seduce-floella-benjamin-16884466/) the impact of seeing someone who looked like her on TV when she was growing up.

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Image courtesy of "Evening Standard"

Andi Oliver tells Floella Benjamin: Nobody looked like me on TV ... (Evening Standard)

The emotional Saturday Kitchen presenter told Dame Floella how much she had meant to her when she was growing up.

I was a little kid in Bury St Edmunds and nobody looked like me on TV – and then there was you.” Speaking on Saturday Kitchen, Dame Floella, who is also a baroness, said: “I was one of the first people to walk around with my hair in plaits and beads, in fact, I used to be laughed at. I begged my mum and in the end she did it for me.

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