Is Richie Anderson Asian? His Dad & Mum – Family History, Where Is He From?

While Strictly’s new contestant, Richie Anderson, is rumored to be Asian, the buzz around his family background doesn’t seem to stop anytime soon.

Anderson, a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and The One Show, is one of the celebrities competing in this season of Strictly Come Dancing. He and his partner Giovanni Pernice will be hoping to win over the judges.

After telling his friend Zoe Ball on-air in August that he would be joining the cast of Strictly Come Dancing in 2022, Anderson performed the Cha Cha Cha last weekend and earned a commendable 23 points.

By participating in a ‘same-sex’ partnership on the show, Anderson follows in the footsteps of former Strictly Come Dancing contestants Nicola Adams and John Whaite, and he called the decision a no-brainer after being inspired by them. Now the audience is curious to know if his zeal, however, is sufficient for him to lift the Glitterball or not.

Quick Facts About Richie Anderson

Is Richie Anderson Asian?

Richie is undoubtedly living the good life by juggling his weekday morning BBC WM slot with Radio 2. I have the two best jobs, he claims.

He has kept his feet firmly planted in the ground despite his upbringing in the concrete jungle of Smethwick, which was a far cry from winning RTS Awards and making friends at the BRITs. While everyone else at the BRITs will be drinking Champagne, he’d be enjoying a pint of Bathams! Even those who are drinking Champagne may not find it enjoyable.

Richie Anderson’s Hometown Comprises Many Ethnicities

Being raised in Smethwick, he had a childhood influenced by the people in that area.

Historically located in Staffordshire, Smethwick is a town in the West Midlands of England. It is an industrial area. It is located four miles west of the heart of Birmingham.

In Smethwick, there were 48,765 people living in 18,381 homes as of the 2011 Census, and the median age was 32. Regarding ethnicity, ‘white’ people made up 43.3% of the population of Smethwick (including 37.6% British, 4.6% Other, 1.1% Irish, and 0.1% Gypsy/Irish Traveler). Asians made up 37.5% of the population. Further, 11.3% of people identified as ‘black’, including 1.9% other, 3.3% African, and 6.1% Caribbean. On the other hand, mixed made up 4.7%, 2.8% were from a different ethnic background, and 0.5% were Arab.

Religion-wise, 39.5% of people in Smethwick identified as Christians, 21.8% as Muslims, 15.7% as Sikhs, 14.0% as having no religion, 5.8% as having no religion, 2.3% as Hindus, and 0.3% as Buddhists.

Richie Anderson Is A Christian From England

The Radio 2 host and his professional partner Giovanni Pernice wowed the audience during the second round of live performances of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday with a mesmerizing quickstep on 1st October.

Anderson follows Christianity, and people believe that he has Asian ethnic background, which is quite unclear. However, as his parents belong to different race, he seems to be mixed.

Richie Anderson Lived With His Mom And Dad In Smethwick

Anderson had a supportive set of parents, and he had a fantastic childhood. Growing up, he spent most of his time with his loved ones in Smethwick.

Additionally, he recalls staging Spice Girls performances in the school’s playground at Uplands in his hometown.

Richie will always have a bit of the concrete jungle. He recalls everyone entering one other’s homes and spending the entire day playing on the park’s malfunctioning swings.

Richie’s mother put a lot of effort into her career while his father drove a white van. Richie claims that his childhood gave him a sense of “realness” that he is quite proud of. And he won’t ever lose his Brummie accent.

When Richie came out of the closet, his parents supported him. One Show short film, in which he outed his football teammates, was a significant work of television that received an RTS prize. “I’ve always played football, but I’ve actually quit teams and moved on when I worried my teammates may think I was not straight, so this was a big deal for me,” the player said.

Regardless, he’s very proud of it, and the response has been incredible. If it gives just one person hope that things will turn out okay, it was all worthwhile for him.

Anderson Is Living His Dream As A BBC Presenter

He obtained a weeklong work experience position at BBC WM after completing his studies in journalism at the University of Leeds and media at a community college.

It was the week that Rover filed for bankruptcy, so business was brisk, and resources were being used to the max. Richie volunteered when it was requested that someone travel to the Longbridge factory to report on the story.

Richie persisted and excelled despite initial skepticism about sending the work experience boy.

He genuinely worried about what was happening because he loved the place, which he thought came over. The presenter just got sucked into chit-chatting and scheduled a ton of interviews. Three months went into three weeks, which turned into a year, and so on. He was like a worn-out boot that nobody wanted to get rid of.

Meet Richie Anderson On Social Media

Anderson is present on Twitter as @richie_anderson, and he has over 29 k followers. After his participation in the popular reality show, the followers’ trend is increasing exponentially.

A video of the candidates dancing together for the live broadcast over the weekend was posted to the Strictly Come Dancing Twitter feed. The dialogue between the celebs and their companions during or after their acts is subtitled in the video. The brief montage showed Richie and Giovanni enjoying their quickstep.

Giovanni pumped his fist in the air once they finished their performance and exclaimed, “Get in!” Richie gave the Italian dancer an enthusiastic hug and declared his love for her.

Following their appearance on Janette Manrara’s It Takes Two on BBC One a few days prior, they performed the dance. Regarding rumors of a quarrel, Giovanni said: “Between us, there is no conflict; we are having a fantastic time. You should disregard your text since it is untrue.” The former Strictly professional Janette joked, “They are all in love.”

In his latest tweet, he shares his Strictly’s practice session video and cations it with a ‘Happy Friday.’ One admirer replies, “You and Giovanni were fabulous tonight! I’ve watched it three times already!”

Richie Has A Verified Account On Instagram

Anderson shares a very good bond with his fellow contestant Fleur East, and it can be seen through his Instagram. On 4th October, he posted a video with her where both of them were walking like divas. The caption said, “Walking into Monday like,” and she replied that she loves him in the comment section.

Similarly, on 2nd July, He posted a picture with his colleagues explaining how happy he actually was with his job.

“What a morning live in beautiful #Birmingham. The @zoetheball breakfast show on @bbcradio2 in Victoria Square with special guests @joelycett and @jamesbaymusic in front of a live audience. Joe and I even paid a little visit to the bull. I’ll say no more if you know, you know.  I love the buzz in Brum with the @birminghamcg22 at the moment.

He has over 53k followers on the platform, and he follows 674 accounts. On his bio, he mentions his agent and PR team’s email ids and also gives away his Twitter account. Definitely, socials do help stars get noticed on a larger scale and by a wider range of people.

Some FAQs

Is Richie Anderson asian?

Richie Anderson is of mixed ethnic background.

Where is Richie Anderson from?

Richie Anderson is from Smethwick, England