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

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

Speaking in an interview with comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster on their Off Menu podcast, the 41-year-old admitted she has to get fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood to translate when the accent is 'too strong'.

Mabuse, who speaks five languages, said she has to 'really concentrate' when listening to someone from the north speak, saying 'its not easy'.

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"The thing is, you [Britons] all speak differently," she confessed. "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."

The 41-year-old admitted she found AJ Odudu's Blackburn dialect during series 19 of the show difficult to understand, saying she is 'always asking Craig' for help with translation.

"I really struggle with people that come from the north," she added. "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 grew up in South Africa but now lives in Germany. She can speak English, German and three South African languages including Afrikaans and Setswana. She said that she has slipped into German 'quite a few times' while live on air, adding that her accent is 'a complete mess'.

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