I’m a Celebrity: South Africa viewers have thrown their support behind Mo Farah as he opened up on being trafficked to the UK as a child. The former long-distance runner shared a heartbreaking story with his campmates, as some were left stunned to learn about his childhood.
Farah, who has four gold Olympic medals under his belt, is part of the all-star lineup of I’m a Celebrity: South Africa after first appearing on the show in 2020.
In an emotional moment with his campmates, the athlete looked back on his childhood growing up in war-ravaged Somalia.
“It’s a long story. I was living in Somalia when I was young and then the Civil War kicked in and I lost my dad,” he explained.
“So when that happened, my mum was just like… It was just like madness. She couldn’t deal with us. It was eight of us.”
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Farah then said that he expected to go to live with some relatives in the Netherlands. He realised this was never the plan when the woman he travelled with— someone he’d never met before — brought him to her home in Hounslow, as the star runner revealed in BBC documentary The Real Mo Farah in 2022.
“It was a whole different thing,” Farah told his campmates on I’m a Celebrity. “Basically I was child trafficked into the UK.”
He explained the woman who brought him to the UK “to do chores” and “look after her kids” changed his name to Mohammed Farah, a name he later adopted for himself.
As Farah relayed his story, a teary-eyed Scarlett Moffatt said: “God, you’re amazing.”
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Fans of the show shared a similar sentiment taking to social media, with one person writing on Instagram: “I was in tears when he was talking about his story! What a brave man”.
“Such a brave man got me all emotional. Bless him,” was another comment, while a third person noted: “I was in tears watching him telling the camp about this story! He was a very brave man.”
Another viewer commented on this season’s campmates getting along and supporting Farah, writing: “Such an amazing person! I do love this lot! They all just get along, it’s lovely.”
I’m a Celebrity… South Africa season 2 airs weeknights on ITV1 and ITVX, with I’m a Celebrity… Unpacked airing afterwards on ITV2 and ITVX.
