BBC Breakfast star Naga Munchetty’s real name revealed
BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty has won a legion of fans since joining the show in 2014. Naga, 47, presents Breakfast Thursday to Saturday and also hosts a BBC Radio 5 Live programme Monday to Wednesday. However, some fans might not know that Naga is not her real name. Naga, is actually a shortened form of […]
BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty has won a legion of fans since joining the show in 2014.
Naga, 47, presents Breakfast Thursday to Saturday and also hosts a BBC Radio 5 Live programme Monday to Wednesday.
However, some fans might not know that Naga is not her real name.
Naga, is actually a shortened form of her middle name, Nagalakshmi, which means ‘Central’ and is from Tamil Nadu, India, where her mother was born.
Her first name is actually Subha, which means ‘Beautiful’ in Hindi.
Her full name is Subha Nagalakshmi Munchetty-Chendriah, and while Naga’s mother is from India, her father is from Mauritius.
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While Naga grew up with her family in South London, she has previously spoken about how she tried to hide her Asian heritage when she was younger.
She told the BBC: “I know what it’s like to hide parts of my whole self, to play down my Asian heritage – it’s difficult to acknowledge that I’ve done it, and hard to admit.
“Since I was young, I felt I needed to, so that I fitted-in more easily.”
However, it wasn’t enough to stop Naga from being on the receiving end of racist comments from the age of seven.
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“I have experienced racism. You never forget the first time you hear that painful and distressing word.
“I was seven, when someone I thought was a friend at school, told me we could no longer hang out.
“They used the p-word, making clear the reason was because of the colour of my skin. The sense of shame was overwhelming.
“I was told I didn’t belong when up until then I assumed I did. From that moment I knew I was seen as different. That first hurt never goes away.”
BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One.