Wildlife cameraman, presenter and Strictly Come Dancing champion Hamza Yassin's latest adventure is to hit the road with his debut tour.
Hamza, best known for winning the 2022 series of Strictly, as well as Countryfile, Animal Park, and CBeebies’ Ranger Hamza, will appear at 02 Guildhall Southampton on May 5 with Hamza Yassin – My Life Behind The Lens.
Tickets are now on sale from nothird.co.uk for the shows, which charts how someone who doesn't like crowds signed up to one of the world's biggest TV shows.
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Ahead of the date, Hamza said: "I’m one of the luckiest men ever. I get to do what I love most; film wildlife and have an incredible time doing it.
"Tell me any child under five years old who isn’t interested in animals, being outside, enjoying the natural world. I am a child at heart and have just managed to keep that feeling. I had no more passion about nature and animals than any other child. But I never had it taken out of me. You know, children aren’t scared of spiders, not until they notice an adult being scared of them.
"We are very good at taking that passion away from kids; ‘Stop looking out of the window, learn your maths, wash your hands, stop playing with those snails…’ Kids should be given the opportunity to be outdoors as much as possible.
“Many adults don’t give children the opportunity to stay in love with nature as they grow up, but I was given the opportunity to be childlike, to spend my time outdoors investigating wildlife, to follow my dream."
The show will include details of Hamza's inspirations - Sir David Attenborough and Steve Irwin, his childhood in Sudan, moving to a remote Scottish outpost, his TV projects and of course the glitterball trophy.
He added: “I struggle in large crowds. Yes, I danced in front of 16million people on live TV and I go and talk in front of a thousand people in a theatre, but I have control in a way in those situations.
"I wouldn’t have thought about touring before Strictly. I have a lot to thank that show for; it changed my life and I am so thankful to the people who have come on this journey with me."
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