EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS
ON A LIFE-CHANGING TRIP
EMBRACES A NEW ROLE ONE YEAR ON FROM ‘STRICTLY’
Tyler West believes everything happens for a reason. And when you look back over the past couple of years, it’s not hard to see why.
The presenter and radio DJ’s glittering turn on last year’s Strictly Come Dancing saw him find love with fellow contestant Molly Rainford.
Still going strong, the couple were spotted looking loved up in the Strictly audience earlier this month.
And in another stroke of serendipity, a trip to Gambia in February 2022 sparked a passion for giving back, leading him to work with WaterAid and become the charity’s latest ambassador.
“I grew up as a boy from a South London council estate and I’ve now got this platform,” Tyler, 27, tells hello! in this exclusive interview. “To be able to use that to elevate these voices of incredible people I meet and do a bit of good in the world, that’s the least that I can do.”
His dedication to WaterAid was born out of a holiday. A “random” getaway to Gambia led him into the local community, where he got to know the people of Wullinkamma School near Brufut. He raised enough money to help the school get clean water and electricity.
JUMPING IN
“That ignited a spark and I got in touch with the amazing team at WaterAid,” he says. “Becoming an ambassador for them is one of the highlights of my career so far.”
Tyler has immersed himself in his new role, taking a trip to Zambia to experience first hand how vital the charity’s work is in helping to supply everyone with clean water.
He spent a week with communities and schools, including one in the border town of Kazungula without toilets or clean running water. He also met local woman Brenda Simasiku, who spends six hours daily collecting water for her village.
“Brenda embodies tenacity. I went with her on her daily journey to collect water,” he says. “It’s an hour’s walk to a dried-up river bed, which she does three times a day. She would dig into the ground to collect water, which she’d carry back on her head in a 20-litre bucket. Her community depends on this water and it’s not clean.”
Villagers who fall ill from dirty water have a five-hour walk to the nearest hospital, he adds. “Brenda told me that some people just have to accept and live with the illness – and some sadly die. That broke my heart. I got upset quite a few times on the trip.
“It was one of those moments in life where you consider all your stres
