Thursday 30 June 2022 09:06 PM AJ Odudu says TV bosses couldn't handle her being black with a regional accent ... trends now
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AJ Odudu says she often questioned whether she'd be successful as a television presenter because industry bosses couldn't handle her being black with a Lancashire accent.
The star, 34, who made her TV debut on Big Brother's Bit On The Side in 2013, says that while regional accents were frequently heard on the TV when she was trying to get her break, she was turned down at first because she refused to alter her Blackburn twang.
She told the Mirror: 'I found it tricky to navigate my way around a space that sometimes made me feel "other".
Obstacles: AJ Odudu, 34, often questioned whether she'd be successful as a television presenter because industry bosses couldn't handle her being black with a Lancashire accent
'My accent was a big thing, but what was confusing was there were other regional accents – Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac were on BBC Sounds.
'It was more that I was black and northern, rather than just