Whittle: 'I was bullied by racists'

Strictly Come Dancing star Ricky Whittle has revealed that he was a victim of racist bullying at school.

The 27-year-old Hollyoaks actor said that he received abuse over his skin colour when he was growing up in Northern Ireland.

Whittle told Love It magazine: "I must have been one of the first black people in the whole country. I stood out from the other children at school. They had never seen a black kid before and that's when the bullying began.

"I had a hard time of it - the taunts could be cruel and menacing."

He continued: "Sport proved to be my saviour. I got in the school football team and started to excel. The more goals I scored, the more popular I became. Instead of being the school 'black kid', I had now become the 'star footballer'."

Whittle and his professional partner Natalie Lowe have recently emerged as the favourites to win Strictly. His girlfriend and Hollyoaks co-star Carley Stenson has given her backing to their romantic dances.

He joked: "I wanted to make her seethe with jealousy when she saw me dance - because if she believed it, so would the audience. I want people to be convinced Nat and I are passionately in love!"

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.