Stacey Dooley has spoken out about her row with Labour MP David Lammy, who labelled her a “white saviour” after she posted a photo of herself with a Ugandan child on Instagram.
In an interview with The Guardian, the documentarian said she “would love to have spoken" to Lammy about the issue.
When asked whether she thinks Lammy had a point, she explained: “I would take on board the criticism and bear in mind that people have certain views and I can’t tell people how to feel. I would be mindful of that.”
Dooley continued: “As one of the richest countries in the world, we have a responsibility to help those in need.
“Going forward, I hope we’re able to keep raising money in a way that everyone feels comfy with.”
In the interview, Dooley also opened up about her relationship with Kevin Clifton, her former partner on Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in December 2018.
The documentarian met Clifton while she was in a relationship with Sam Tucknott, prompting criticism that her romance with the professional dancer developed while Dooley was still with Tucknott.
At the time, Dooley responded to the claims on Twitter, describing them as “utter nonsense”.
“Anyone with any adult life experience knows there are two sides to every story,” she added.
“Re Sam, I loved him very much and only wish him happiness and success going forward.”
Dooley revealed she and Clifton have turned down offers of “tens of thousands of pounds” from various publications to speak about their relationship in detail.
“Kev and I have agreed not to go into too much detail about our private lives because you can’t really indulge that and then ask for privacy,” the 32-year-old added.
“What I am happy to say is Kev’s amazing, I’m happy, life happens, I’ve got an amazing career and I’m very lucky.”
