BBC star Clara Amfo reveals that she was sexually abused as a five-year-old-child

BBC star Clara Amfo, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing Series 18, claimed on the Changes with Annie MacManus podcast, that she was “groomed” by a family friend when she was just five-years-old and said: “I’m a survivor, I’m a victim-however you want to look at it- of childhood sexual abuse. I was sexually abused by a friend of our family. And it went on for quite a while between the ages of like, I think I was five, coming up to six years old.”

Clara Amfo revealed that the abuse only stopped when her brother found out what had happened and spoke out. Clara also said: “But it was, it was life changing. Anyone who has been through any kind of abuse in their life, particularly sexual abuse, it changes the way you view the world. Because from five years old, I knew that the world wasn’t a safe place. Issues of trust, self-worth, you know, just ruptured, really. And the innocence just dies in you. You can never get it back.”

As the abuse had happened when she was just five, Clara went on to explain how she didn’t understand what had happened to her for years and said: “Essentially, like, I was groomed,” and also said:” So as a little kid, you think, ‘Well, this is normal’. But I'll say this, like, my brother found out in the most literal way he could, which was unfortunate for both of us, put it that way. And that's how it ended, basically."

The childhood abuse led Clara Amfo to suffering from depression which resulted in her seeking therapy. However, she endured anxiety attacks and explained that she was 18 or 19 when she “basically had a nervous breakdown.”

Clara was questioned by her mother after her brother had told her what had happened but denied the abuse had taken place. The Mirror reported that Clara “claimed police had tried to make her not take her case to court when she was 19, meaning her abuser has never been brought to justice. She said she would have continued to push if it was today but explained the thoughts as a teen.”

After opening up about the abuse she suffered as a child, David Challen, a domestic abuse campaigner took to X to say “Huge admiration for Clara Amfo for bravely sharing the immense difficulties of overcoming being sexually abused by a family friend, which she says, changed me forever.”

If you have been affected by rape or sexual abuse, you can contact Rape Crisis, 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line on 0808 500 2222