- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Eastern Eye Staff
BRITISH television star and author Konnie Huq says the younger generations are “not fussed” about skin colour as she launches an eco-friendly ‘Little Spring Clean’ campaign.
The former Blur Peter presenter has urged people to join the Recycle Your Electricals project and “make a difference” to the planet.
“Nearly 60 per cent of UK householders are spring cleaning in lockdown — but there’s a mountain of old electricals getting left in the dark,” says the campaign.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch, Huq, 44, recalled being a “token” Asian woman on the Blue Peter show.
Being the first Asian presenter on the popular CBBC show helped pave the way for more non-white personalities, she added.
“I still have now people in their 20s or 30s going ‘I never saw Asians in that role or even black people’,” she told the Daily Mail.
“You end up going through a thing where people may get called ‘token’ but you have to have people doing it first for it to become the norm.
“Younger generations won’t notice colour. They’re not fussed. It’s not a big deal.”
Huq, who is married to TV critic and satirist Charlie Brooker, added that bringing about changes in attitudes involved helping people not feel “embarrassed to pave the way” in a society so judgmental that “we feel scared to be ourselves”.
The British-Bangladeshi star is also supporting the ‘Summer Reading Challenge 2020’, a literary initiative from June to September aimed at encouraging children to pick up a book.
