In 'hugely moving' documentary, Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah reveals that he was trafficked to the U.K.

Sir Mo Farah is a national treasure in the U.K. 

The Somalia-born hero of the 2012 London Olympics — he won gold in both the 5,000- and 10,000-metre races — is one of the most accomplished athletes in British history. In 2017, Queen Elizabeth knighted Farah for his service to sports.

For most of Farah's time in the spotlight, fans believed that he had arrived in the U.K. with his family as a refugee. That's the story he told on talk shows and in his 2013 autobiography, Twin Ambitions. 

But that wasn't the truth. 

In a 2022 documentary, Farah reveals that strangers trafficked him to the U.K. to work as a domestic servant when he was just nine years old. His own mother says she didn't even know he'd been removed from his uncle's home in Djibouti, where he'd been sent to live after his father was killed in Somalia's civil war.

The Real Mo Farah premiered on the BBC on July 13, 2022, to wide acclaim. The Guardian gave the film a five-star review, calling it "beautifully made and often heartbreaking" and "hugely moving." 

The Independent also rated the film five stars. "This jaw-dropping documentary will leave you bruised and bewildered," Sean O'Grady wrote. "Revelation after revelation, detail after detail and with one searing emotional confession leading to yet another, the viewer is left punchdrunk, bewildered at the real story of his life." 

Reviewing the documentary for the i, a British morning paper, Emily Baker wrote: "This was a delicate, purposeful film which told an extraordinary story without sensationalism. While it was an intensely personal journey for Farah, it also spoke volumes about the trauma carried by victims of domestic servitude and trafficking."

After the documentary aired on the BBC, anti-slavery