Strictly Come Dancing star, Heather Small, has spoken out about recent claims that racism is to blame for her repeatedly ending up in the botton two on the show.

“For me personally, if someone wants to have a proper conversation about bigotry and race then great, but not in a context that’s salacious. It’s too serious a topic for that,” Small told the Daily Mail. “If I’m going to discuss it I’m going to be proactive about it, not reactive. Have I ever experienced discrimination, well, of course I have.

“But there’s a time and a place to discuss these things, and it’s not something that should be just flung at a situation. In terms of Strictly, if I didn’t think people were going to be fair to me, then I wouldn’t have taken part.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues at 6.00pm tonight on BBC One.