Hamza Yassin’s secret admission about being homeless and lie he told his parents for almost a year

Strictly champion Hamza Yassin – who is on Countryfile this evening (Sunday, January 4) – once opened up about being homeless for almost a year.

The star, 35, revealed once that he lived in the back of his car for nine months after moving to a village in Scotland during his 20s.

Hamza Yassin on living in the back of his car for nine months

Speaking to The Guardian back in 2024, Hamza admitted that during the early days of his career, he lived in the back of his car.

The star was based in the Highlands of Scotland, where he lied to his parents, telling them he was living in a cottage.

“When I was 21, I went on holiday with a friend to the Highlands. Two weeks later, I was back there for good. I told my parents I was living in this beautiful, quaint cottage. ‘There’s no signal,’ I would tell them, ‘so don’t bother ringing me. I’ll call you!’ The truth was I was living in my car, just trying to make ends meet.

“I parked at the local ferry terminal and blocked the sign that said ‘No overnight parking’. I lived there happily for nine months, doing odd jobs – cutting grass, chopping logs, and moving furniture. I calculated I needed £50 a month to survive and, as I was an ex-rugby player, I had the strength to do all sorts of manual work. During that time, I was cutting my teeth as a wildlife cameraman whenever I could – I was determined that I wouldn’t go back to Northampton with my tail between my legs and say to my parents: ‘I’ve been defeated, the dream is over.'”

Hamza on living in his car to ‘make ends meet’

It all worked out in the end for the star.

“Luckily, it paid off. As well as doing housekeeping, I was also taking photos of otters, eagles, pine martens, dolphins, whales and red deer. That experience taught me everything I needed to know about the profession,” he said.

In an interview with The Times in November 2025, Hamza admitted the hardest part about living in his car was trying not to be spotted by the locals.

“Not being spotted sleeping in the back by the locals. I was waking up at 8am, pretending I was going on the ferry. It turned out that they knew, they just never quizzed me. I didn’t have a fridge. I had showers at a local campsite. I’m sometimes asked if I find it tough being a black man in the countryside.

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I feel like I’ve conquered the world’

“I usually say that the wildlife doesn’t care. People were curious, not suspicious. They’d say, ‘What are you doing here?’.”

The star was then asked whether it feels like a luxury having his own home now.

“The sea is about 20 metres in front of the house. I see dolphins, orcas, eagles, red deer, otters. I felt like I’d conquered the world. I put in a wood-burning stove and had double-glazed windows. But I’d survived the west coast winters with double hoodies and duvets. It’s what we do as wildlife camera operators — go to remote places where there isn’t a Four Seasons hotel,” he said.

Read more: Hamza Yassin’s heartfelt confession about finding love after ‘living alone since uni’

Catch Hamza on Countryfile tonight (Sunday, January 4) from 6pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.