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1971: "My mother gave me away." Eartha Kitt on her life story

Legend of stage and screen, Eartha Kitt, opens up in an emotional interview about her life. She describes her difficult childhood, being abandoned by her mother and brought up in extreme poverty, and the profound effect it has had on her life, career and her relationship with her own daughter.

The interview concludes with Eartha Kitt performing a stunning rendition of a Welsh song - Mae 'nghariad i'n Fenws (My Sweetheart's Like Venus) - that she has been practising all week.

Aspects of this programme reflect the time when it was made and contains language that may offend.

This interview is with Ronnie Williams, from Late Call, originally broadcast 10 March, 1971.

BBC Archive