Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 12, 2026

Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse says she can't understand northern accents

Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse says she can't understand northern accents

Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse has said she struggles to understand the accents of people from the north of England.

Motsi Mabuse admitted she asks fellow Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood for help understanding some northern people


Mabuse, who speaks five languages, admitted she has to "really concentrate" when making conversation in the UK.

She added that fellow Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood helps translate when an accent is "too strong".

Mabuse grew up in South Africa but now lives in Germany.

Speaking to comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster on their Off Menu podcast, the 41-year-old said: "The thing is, you [Britons] all speak differently.

"Every time I'm in the country I really have to concentrate.

"Some people I just don't know … I'm just like, 'Are we speaking the same language?'

"There's a lot of accents here."

Mabuse was then asked if she struggled with contestant AJ Odudu's Blackburn dialect during series 19 of the dance reality show back in 2021.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes. But there have been quite a few people from the north, so I'm always asking Craig. I'm just trying to understand … but it's not easy."

She added fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood sometimes acts as a translator for her when they interact with some people from the north of England.

"I really struggle with people that come from the north.

"I'm like, can you please translate at this point? It's so strong, I just don't understand, really. I'm being honest."

Mabuse can speak five languages: English, German and three South African languages including Afrikaans and Setswana.

She said that she often accidentally slips into German during broadcasts: "It's happened quite a few times.

"Plus I have that South African accent, so it's a mess. It's a complete mess."

Mabuse lives in Germany and has appeared on their version of Strictly called Let's Dance.

When the dance competition airs on BBC One every autumn and winter, she commutes to the UK every week for the live shows.

She joined Strictly in 2019 as a professional dancer, before becoming a judge alongside Head Judge Shirley Ballas, Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
The AI Invoice Shock: Layoffs Didn't Save Managers Money — They Cost Them More
Concern: Sexually Transmitted Bacterium Among Men Develops Antibiotic Resistance
Following Massive Investor Demand: SK Hynix Raises 26.5 Billion Dollars on Nasdaq
Passenger Partially Pulled Out of Ryanair Jet After Cabin Window Fails Mid-Flight
After Four Years, and Under a Heavy Veil of Secrecy: King Charles Meets His Grandchildren, Harry and Meghan's Children
Severe Heatwave Drives Dangerous Ground-Level Ozone Pollution Across Two Thirds of European Union
Westminster in Freefall as Farage's By-Election Gamble Triggers Broader Systemic Crises
Institutional Fractures and Political Volatility Reshape Britain's Domestic Landscape
Deadly Fire, Health Emergencies and Political Upheaval Shape a Volatile Global News Cycle
Flight Instructor Jumped to His Death — Student Landed the Plane: "You Know What You Need to Do"
The Physical and Electronic Barriers Disrupting Domestic Wireless Networks
France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing
Prince Harry Suffers Major Court Defeat in Legal Battle Against Daily Mail Publisher
Bonnie Tyler, Welsh Singer Behind Total Eclipse of the Heart, Dies at 75
Tech Pulse: The Future of AI and Screen Culture
Global News Briefing: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions and Corporate Shakeups
Global News Brief: Escalating Conflicts, Public Health Crises, and World Cup Drama
Federal Financial Framework Shifts as Treasury Launches Universal Savings Program for Minors
French Court Allows Le Pen to Run for Presidency, but with an Electronic Tag: "I Will Appeal, and I Will Run"
$1.4 Trillion: The Lawsuit That Could Crush Meta
Europe's Growing Struggle with Extreme Heat and Air Conditioning
UK Daily Briefing: Legal Developments and Social Issues
Political Turmoil and Rising Costs
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Logic Flaw in Windows 11 Permission Architecture Silently Consumes Hundreds of Gigabytes of Local Storage
Apple Advances Late-Stage Operating Systems with Fourth Beta Deployments
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
Deep Purple Has Released Its Best Album in Decades
Microsoft Lays Off 4,800 Employees and Xbox Suffers the Hardest Blow
Morocco and France Advance as 2026 FIFA World Cup Enters Quarterfinals.
Historic 2026 Tour de France Opens in Barcelona With Revamped Team Time Trial.
Global Mergers and Acquisitions Approach $4 Trillion Defying Geopolitical Tumult.
Negotiators Advance 20-Point Framework for Gaza Ceasefire and Demilitarization.
OECD Warns Middle East Conflict Will Depress Global Economic Growth.
Ukrainian Drones Strike Major Oil Terminal in St. Petersburg.
World Meteorological Organization Issues Urgent Alert Over Rapidly Intensifying El Niño.
United States Commemorates 250th Anniversary With Diplomatic Summits and Global Flotilla.
Iran Begins Days-Long Funeral for Supreme Leader Khamenei Amid Strait of Hormuz Standoff.
Technology giant reports surging carbon emissions driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure demands.
Artificial intelligence adoption accelerates workforce reductions across the technology and financial sectors.
Global technology and financial conglomerates collaborate to launch a new stablecoin standard.
United States regulators lift export restrictions on a major frontier artificial intelligence model.
Luxury bags take over the World Cup: style, status symbol, or just showing off?
×