Oti Mabuse: My South Africa | Preview (BBC One)

In a one-off BBC One special, a decade after she left home, Oti Mabuse is going back to her country of birth to show us her South Africa.

Oti will travel across the country starting at the nostalgic and familiar landscape of her childhood in Mabopane near Pretoria. She will follow roads she has travelled with her family, meet old and new friends, and complete a road trip full of surprises.

Here she goes back to her first school and first dancefloor, and there are emotional reunions with her parents and with family and friends from her past. She tracks the journey her family have taken out of poverty and recounts the struggles for money, safety and recognition.

Oti and her sisters sold flowers on the streets to pay for dance classes, and she meets up with Aunt Johanna, who is still running the flower stall.

But the township is not the whole story. Oti takes a winding road trip across the country, through breathtaking landscape and unfamiliar places. Along the way, she finds new inspiration from the people she meets: musicians, farmers, dancers, and particularly from the strong women who are building the new South Africa.

Oti Mabuse, says: “To be asked by the BBC to do my very own documentary about something that is so close to my heart is an absolute privilege and I am deeply humbled. I can’t wait to show the viewers where I grew up and take them on the journey that got me to where I am today. I truly hope they love South Africa like I do.”

Oti Mabuse: My South Africa airs Thursday 17th November at 9pm on BBC One.