Scarlett Moffatt says body confidence was helped by living with Namibia tribe who praised her body shape

‘I never felt so happy to be in my own skin’

Scarlett Moffatt has spoken about how her body confidence was boosted by living among indigenous people in the Namibian desert for her latest TV show, The British Tribe Next Door.

The Channel 4 programme sees Moffatt and her family move into a recreated version of their County Durham home in the southern African country, where they lived for a month alongside the semi-nomadic Himba people in the village of Otjeme in western Namibia.

Speaking about the show on This Morning, Moffat discussed how body confidence is viewed differently in the two cultures.

“My friends there kept saying, ‘we wish we had your rolls of fat’, which if any of my friends at home said that I would be really offended,” the 29-year-old said.

Moffat went on to explain how her close friend in Namibia, Candithico, complimented her body shape.

“[She] was saying you look strong and it looks like your dad’s cattle are healthy. I never felt so not judged and happy to be in my own skin.”

The reality TV star went on to explain that the women in the Himba tribe don’t own mirrors, which made her rethink the way she views her own vanity.

“I just feel like a lot of my day is consumed with how I look and you see your reflection and you look in it… it’s just not a thing there.”

During filming, Moffat explained she showed a mirror to some of the men and women she was living alongside.

“The most amazing thing is that they all said they looked beautiful, and that was so touching.”