Stacey Dooley hits back at more critics over new show Glow Up as she’s accused of ‘selling out’

Stacey Dooley has gone in after she was accused of ‘selling out’ over her new BBC Three series, Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star.

The series follows 10 contestants who live and work together while competing to bag a lucrative contract with some of the world’s leading make-up artists.

However, the show was immediately hit with backlash, and the Strictly Come Dancing champion didn’t take to a critic’s comments lightly after they accused the 31-year-old of abandoning her journalistic roots.

‘It’s painfully predictable,’ Stacey complained to Mail Online. ‘There are always people who are desperate to put you in your one camp and never let you leave.

‘The idea that you could be interested in the Yazidi community and also in lipstick blows people’s minds. It’s a really short-sighted Stone Age attitude; it’s boring, actually.’

Stacey’s next film sees the reporter head to Mosul, Iraq, where she was confronted with dead bodies on the road and had to manoeuvre around them to avoid unexploded IEDs [improvised explosive devices].

‘But after all that, it seemed really important to be at home and enjoy some escapism. Anyway, I’ve earned my stripes; I don’t need to prove myself to anyone,’ she added.

‘We should celebrate make-up. It’s a lucrative industry; a massive employer.’

It’s been a tough few weeks for Stacey after she found herself at the crux of a race row, sparked during a recent trip to Africa for Comic Relief where she held up a small boy and wrote: ‘OB.SESSSSSSSSSSED’ alongside a broken heart emoji.

Many followers accused the presenter of using the child as an ‘accessory’ for her Instagram feed, including Labour MP David Lammy who responded by tweeting: ‘The world does not need any more white saviours.

‘As I’ve said before, this just perpetuates tired and unhelpful stereotypes. Let’s instead promote voices from across the continent of Africa and have serious debate.’

Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up star comes to BBC Three later this year while Comic Relief airs Friday March 15 on BBC One.

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